Meet Me with a Smile
by CarrieLemon
Summary: Sirius and Annabelle both have their scars. Lily and James keep messing up. The road from misguided loathing to real love is full of missteps, meddlers, and QUIDDITCH! A sweet tale of friendship, love, and growing up. Chapters short at first, but get longer as story progresses. Language/Violence/Lust factor. Work in Progress. ENJOY!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Here it is, a Sirius/OC story where Sirius is _not_ a womanizing manwhore, but more of a typical, misunderstood sixteen-year-old. Mostly canon, with a few minor adjustments and addition of OC Maurader Era students. Fresh take on Jily as well.  
**

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author of this story is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

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"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." -Mother Teresa

**_Prologue - Fifth year_**

Annabelle exited Transfiguration late after losing her homework and staying after to explain to Professor McGonagall what had happened. When she came out into the corridor, they were still there despite everyone else having gone already, waiting to start their detention for getting caught roaming the halls after curfew the night before. Remus Lupin, whom Annabelle was rather fond of with his shy eyes and disheveled hair; the only one of the four with whom she was sort of friendly, James Potter, her best friend's longstanding crush and source of angst who also happened to be an egotistical tosser, Sirius Black; easily the best looking boy at the school, but smug and aloof in that he really only associated with a select few while icing out everyone else, and Peter Pettigrew, the worst of the bunch, a rat-faced little hanger-on with no thoughts of his own and a penchant for foul humour that would make a grindylow blush. What a motley bunch she always mused when they crossed her mind, or her path as they had done that day.

They were leaning against the wall, looking bored and downcast, until they saw Annabelle. Suddenly, they all perked up and grinned wickedly, except for Remus who appeared mildly uncomfortable. They didn't say anything, but their snide way of acknowledging her made her stop in her tracks. She feared they would say something rude as she narrowed her eyes nervously. When all they did was stare at her with their smirking faces, she walked away. She heard them burst into laughter.

"Wankers," she called casually, hoping her voice would not reveal her bitterness toward them. It only made them laugh harder. Her heart was racing, and she picked up her pace, not bothering to look back at them. She had never understood why they were so popular. Sure, they were attractive and smart, minus Peter, but her grandfather, who had also been an amazing, celebrated wizard before he died, used to tell her that pretty is as pretty does. She had thought it was just something adults told children, but this group of boys was a perfect illustration of why it was true. They were uglier than beasts in her opinion, and she refused to go along with so many of her peers in their blind worship of them.

Granted, they never took it anywhere with her, perhaps because she was a girl, or Lily's friend, or the late, great Darien O'Neill's granddaughter, but their arrogant dismissal of her felt spiteful somehow. She briefly recalled a few other instances when James and Sirius made her feel small and insignificant. There was the way James would approach Lily, ignoring the fact that she was in the middle of a conversation with Annabelle and interrupt like she wasn't even there, or the way Sirius would be smiling, surrounded by his teammates and other admirers, but if he caught her eye his smile would vanish and his eyes would narrow. Of course Peter would just copy whatever James and Sirius did.

Eventually, though, she started to accept that it was just who they were, so there was no point in getting upset. In return, she refused to give them the time of day, only speaking to them if she absolutely had to for classroom related issues. She had a feeling they thought she was conceited, and she was fine with that, since the feeling was mutual. But she couldn't deny to herself that being laughed at for no reason didn't hurt a little.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sirius instantly regretted the encounter when he saw how fast Annabelle O'Neill was walking down the hall to get away from them. He wasn't exactly sure what it was about them that made her despise them so. She seemed to have a special disdain for him, evident in the haughty sneers she shot him whenever he dared to look at her, even though he'd never done anything to her personally. She was just so full of her own virtue. But he hated that she had walked away so fast, like she was frightened by them. He wasn't used to girls fleeing from him in fear and he wished he could undo the moment when all the hostility started between them.

When she had come out of that classroom, he had smiled at her. James and Peter were trying to get to her, but he was mostly innocent this time, he told himself. He really was just smiling politely, and of course he laughed when the other two started to laugh because he had terrible impulse control at fifteen, like most boys their age. Dumbledore had told him that during a detention once. After she had called them wankers and disappeared (which also made him laugh, mainly because she was right), he turned around to reproach them.

"What the hell was that? Doesn't that girl hate us enough?"

"You were laughing, too," replied Peter, disgusted at being scolded. "And honestly, who the hell cares if she hates us?"

"Really," echoed James. "She has looked down her nose at us since day one. Why should we tiptoe around her?"

"Because she wasn't bothering us," Sirius said. "It just feels wrong."

"It is wrong," confirmed Remus. "She was just coming out of class. Live and let live."

"I'm still convinced she's the reason Evans won't date James," Peter prodded. "She has to be. Probably going to run and tell her about the mean boys laughing at her."

Remus shook his head. "Way to instigate, Wormtail. Lily won't date James because she thinks he is immature and full of himself. And after this little scene, who could blame her? That's her best friend you're sneering at."

"You are only defending her because she isn't an uppity hag to you," accused Peter.

"It doesn't help that you punish her just because she doesn't find you amusing," Remus replied. "Do you think laughing at her is going to make her warm up to you?"

The boys quietly considered Remus' admonition.

"I'm going inside," he muttered. "It's almost time for detention to start."

"I'm done teasing that one," said Sirius to the others before following Remus inside. "I don't care if she hates us. It isn't fun anymore when I actually feel bad about it."

James shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Since when does Padfoot care about offending people? It isn't like we said anything to her," said Peter.

"Eh, maybe they're right. It was pretty lame of us to sit there and laugh at her for no reason," admitted James, who didn't like that Lily thought of him as immature.

"No reason? She told you and Sirius off last year in class for picking on Snivellus, and after he humiliated her, she still looks at us like we are shite! How do you explain that?"

"You know she only did it for Lily's sake," James replied. "Lily has defended Snivellus countless times, and I got over it. I think we can get over O'Neill doing it _once_, okay, mate? She's not even friends with him. Besides, I'm not going to be some loser holding a grudge against a bird I don't even know."

"Sorry, but I don't get over it when anyone defends Snivellus," muttered Peter as he followed James into class. "And if you ask me, Evans and O'Neill are both barking mad."

"Not Lily, mate," warned James as they entered detention. "Watch yourself."

"Sorry, James," replied Peter, and hung his head like a puppy that had been scolded by his master.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Annabelle hadn't told Lily about her demeaning encounter. She hated to sound like a whinger, since Lily still liked James, even though she dismissed him at every turn. Lily was having a hard time reconciling her feelings for him. He was so sweet when she spoke to him one on one, she had told Annabelle, but such a prat in front of the others, whom Lily incidentally found just as despicable as Annabelle did. The illustrious James Potter fancying you apparently made you above condemnation, though, like royalty. Annabelle wished her friend would fall for someone else so they could wash their hands of that intimidating crew of tossers.

Unfortunately, despite Lily dating another boy that year, it was short lived, because she couldn't stop thinking about James. At least the Gryffindor team lost the Quidditch cup, which normally wouldn't please Annabelle, and she felt a little guilty because she was not fan of Slytherin's team either, but it made James, Sirius, and Peter upset. That was reason enough for her to be glad.


	2. Unwanted Change

**_Sixth Year  
_**

It was only the first week of his sixth year and already Sirius could feel change was in the air. Unwanted change, to be specific. James, his best friend, was back with his on again off again girlfriend, Lily, and this time it seemed like they might actually make it work. Sirius was not jealous. He had no interest in Lily. Yes, she was pretty. Yes, she was smart. But he was hard to impress. And because of his upbringing with parents that treated him like property instead of like a son, he was extremely guarded. Trust did not come easy for him.

He knew that girls were drawn to him, but he didn't care. Most of them were phonies, including Elsinore Collins, the tall blonde Slytherin that he had known since childhood. From their first year, she acted like she owned him, and made sure everyone else knew it. They "dated" for a week during their second year, mainly because of peer pressure; he was just doing what he thought he was supposed to do since his friends encouraged him to say yes when she asked him out. People thought they went out for much longer than they actually had, because Elsinore gave that impression. They even shared a very awkward kiss. He felt nothing toward her, except irritation maybe. His friend Peter still to that day harped on and on about it, how Sirius let 'the hottest bird at Hogwarts' go. Peter was so shallow about girls though, judging merely by appearances, and couldn't see that Elsinore was rotten on the inside. She had called him a "tease" and told him to grow up, which seemed like a stupid thing to say to a twelve-year-old, even to him. He knew that dating her had been a mistake. She reminded him too much of home.

The experience had turned him off to dating in general, since most of the girls that pursued him and had the guts to ask him out barely knew him. They just liked him for his athletic prowess, his prestigious family name, and what he felt the most awkward and embarrassed about when it was pointed out to him- his "dreamy" good looks. He looked like his miserable father, and that was enough for him to take their flattery with a grain of salt.

Not all girls fancied him though. Most of them were pureblood Slytherins, whose families he knew and considered him a blood traitor, although there were few who thought it was their mission to bring him back to the fold, like Elsinore. Some were Ravenclaws, mostly intellectuals who would rather discuss books than watch a Quidditch match and wrote him off as a cocky and shallow. He didn't mind. He wanted nothing to do with the Slytherins; sharing classes with them was painful enough without voluntarily spending time with any of them. And the Ravenclaws were right, he was cocky to a degree, but not for the reasons most people thought. Contrary to popular belief, he did not think he was special because of his family name, and he wasn't vain enough to care what they said about his looks. But he did love Quidditch; it was his favourite thing, his obsession, and he was proud of his athletic abilities. If that made him seem cocky, then so be it.

Yet there was so much more to him than most people knew, because he kept it hidden, reserved only for a trusted few, and they included James, Remus, and Peter, his roommates since first year. Even James' girlfriend once noted how he had girls fainting in his wake and yet he didn't bat an eye (she had a flair for the melodramatic). The truth was, he was usually oblivious to it. Too caught up in the next Quidditch practice, the next play devised. And when not thinking about Quidditch, he was busy sneaking around the castle and getting into trouble with his mates. Anything to keep his mind off his family, and his past. Anything not to invite in more drama than he already had to deal with, and girls, from his observations, were drama.

Remus, ever the analyst, and impressed with Sirius's reluctant popularity, speculated that maybe that was part of the draw. He had been pretty much unattainable so far, which made him more desirable to his groupies. People always wanted what they couldn't have. Peter speculated in addition, that they also resented what they couldn't have, which explained the few girls that didn't like him. However, Sirius knew that every girl at Hogwarts was not obsessed with him. Plenty of girls let him be, and instead pursued James, or occasionally his scruffy, quiet friend Remus. Sirius always thought that Remus' admirers were somehow nicer and more intelligent than the girls that he had relentlessly chasing him, and he thought he might even be more open to dating again if only the girl was nice, and smart. And fun. Gosh, she had to be fun. But most of the time, talk of girlfriends bored him. He would much rather be on the pitch practicing. He ate, slept, and dreamed Quidditch, especially of beating Slytherin. And not just because they were their toughest competitors. It was personal.

So this was why the rekindling of the James and Lily romance irritated him so. After a year of pining for her, trying to impress her, and then finally giving up trying to get her back, she was suddenly interested again, much to Sirius's confusion and disappointment. And while he had nothing personal against Lily, James was not on his game when he was with her. Also, Sirius had to share his partner in crime, meaning he was left with a lot more free time while Peter mingled with members of the chess club, and Remus studied to catch up on work missed due to his turning into a Werewolf once a month.

Nothing, though, _nothing_ could have prepared him for the feeling of indignation when James sat down next to him at lunch the second day of the new term and begged him to change lab partners in Potions so he could be with Lily. He and James had been lab partners since the beginning. And now, just a few days into the semester, James was changing things. Not to mention Lily's current lab partner, that would become his if he agreed to this ridiculous idea.

"Come on, Sirius," James appealed. "It turns out she's not as big a wench as we thought she was. I've talked to her a few times and she's actually rather nice. Please? Lily really wants me to sit with her."

Lily had him wrapped around her finger. Sirius couldn't believe how fast he was to jump ship now that he and Lily were _official_.

"How does O'Neill feel about it?" he asked. "Let me remind you, first of all, she thinks I'm shite, and secondly... well… she just really thinks I'm shite. She actually agreed to this?"

"She hasn't asked her yet," James replied. "She wanted to see what you said first."

Peter interjected, "She will never agree to it. She's a stuck-up hag."

"Stay out of this, mate," James scolded him through gritted teeth. Peter just shrugged and went back to his food.

Sirius ignored Peter's remark and thought for a minute about his options. He could say no, and appear to be a big baby, and a selfish friend. Worse, he could appear to be intimidated by Lily's best friend, Annabelle O'Neill, who wasn't exactly a part of the faction of girls that liked him. Or he could say yes, be the good friend, and be paired with a girl that found him abhorrent.

He had noticed her aversion to him from the start, on the train to Hogwarts first year to be exact, when he and James teased Snape in front of her and Lily. She pretty much avoided him after that, didn't seem to acknowledge his existence, except to shoot him dirty looks every now and then, until fourth year. That year, they had a run-in with each other when she tried to be noble by sticking up for Snape in class when Sirius, James, and Peter were teasing him. She was only doing it for Lily since Annabelle clearly wasn't even friends with the git. He had hoped she'd realize what a arse Snape was when he called her a daft half-blood cow and told her to piss off; maybe gain some insight as to why Sirius didn't like him, but the dirty looks only increased, so he gladly returned the favour.

Sometimes he wondered if it was something more than the Snivellus stuff that bugged her, as in the fact that she was not a pureblood and he was a Black. Another reason he hated his name; it signaled to non-purebloods that he might be prejudiced, or worse, dangerous. She had practically run from them that day last year in the corridor. He sometimes wondered if he was missing out on knowing anyone because they were afraid of his family's reputation. Either way, he wasn't fond of the way she regarded him, the disapproving goody-goody.

"Come on mate," James pleaded. "I really want to make it work with Lily this time. Please, just say it's okay."

"And the Professor is okay with it?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, he said just to let him know so he can document the change for grading purposes."

"But doesn't she stink at potions?" Sirius asked, reaching for any reason not to go through with it. "She is barely passing that class. And you want me to be her lab partner and get graded with her? That's not fair."

"You can help her!" James appealed. "You are an ace at Potions. It's your chance to help someone else!"

Sirius laughed bitterly. "Yeah, if you can get her to talk me."

Remus chimed in, "Well, maybe this is your chance to make amends. To clear the air. She's not that bad. You would see that if you got to know her."

Remus had been on friendly terms with her since she discovered him in a hallway, very sick and about to turn into a Werewolf during their first year. He had still been at the age where he'd sometimes get distracted, forgetting the time, and would have to run to meet Madam Pomfrey who would escort him to the Shrieking Shack. One evening he'd been so caught up with his mates, he hadn't remembered until it was too late. Annabelle had been confused and scared when she'd come upon him, and she'd summoned Dumbledore, who after delivering Remus to safety, called her into his office and explained the situation to her so she would know the importance of not talking about it with others. It was also the last time he forgot. She had kept the secret for years and hadn't acted the least bit put off by the information. At least she had one thing going for her, Sirius thought; she wasn't a big mouth when it came to secrets.

"How did she even get into Potions?" sneered Peter. "Don't you need an Exceptional on your O.W.L.? Pays to have connections, I tell ya."

"Who the hell cares?" snapped James. "Sirius? Will you switch?"

James was begging and it was embarrassing for Sirius to see his friend in this state. He figured why not just go with it. Annabelle would most likely say no, and then she would look like the hag. Not his problem.

"Fine. It's okay with me. But good luck convincing her."

James smiled. "That will be Lily's job. Thanks mate. I owe you one!"

"That's an understatement," Sirius muttered.

Remus smiled and shook his head as James motioned to Lily with a thumbs up, who was watching, waiting for the verdict.


	3. What are Friends for?

Lily grinned excitedly when she saw James give the signal. She had been friends with Annabelle since they met in King's Cross Station, their first year at Hogwarts. Annabelle could not figure out how to get through the wall to Platform 9 ¾. Lily's then friend, Severus Snape, proudly showed them how it was done. Lily hoped right away that she and Annabelle would be great friends, and they were. Sadly, Severus was jealous of Annabelle right off the bat, as he would be of all of her mates in time, and despite Annabelle's efforts to become his friend, he remained standoffish with her, barely tolerating her presence.

Lily and Severus had grown apart over the years, or more like she had grown away from him and his hold on her. He was very solitary whereas Lily was very sociable, and she was tiring of his constant moodiness and jealousy. She still felt bad about it, especially when James and his mates teased him, but that was in the past. They hadn't bothered Severus, that she knew of anyway, in a while, except for that incident in June. He'd promised her he'd leave Severus alone after that, and he'd written her letters all summer, which was part of the reason she decided to give him another chance. That, and he was irresistible to her. He had a light to him that Severus somehow lacked, and it didn't hurt that he was adorable.

It was hard to find time alone with him though; living at school and all. She wanted to be near him all the time, and being his partner in Potions lab meant she could have him all to herself for those precious hours every week. She had to tread lightly though. Annabelle would not be easy to convince that this was a good plan.

"Annie, can I talk to you about something?" Lily asked, a great gentleness in her voice in an attempt to soften Annabelle up. This was not going to be easy.

"Sure," replied Annabelle, "What is it?"

"Well, I have a small favor to ask," Lily began. "You know how James and I are trying to make this work and everything, and you know how I feel about him."

Annabelle nodded. "Of course," she said, trying to resist the urge to gag.

Lily paused uneasily, then spat it out quickly, "We asked Professor Slughorn and he said it was fine with him if Sirius Black and I switched lab partners."

Annabelle's brow furrowed as what Lily said began to sink in. "Wait, you mean you want James to be your lab partner, and I would have to be Sirius Black's lab partner?"

Lily nodded nervously. Annabelle shifted her position to face Lily head on.

"Lily, let me ask you something. What in the world makes you think I would be okay with this?" the hurt evident in her shaky voice.

Lily was well-aware of the acrimony between Annabelle and Sirius, and of course James and Peter. She had witnessed its inception all those years ago, and had watched it solidify. They didn't like each other. Lily wasn't all that fond of any of them in the beginning either, for the same reasons as Annabelle, but something changed with James, and she started to see him differently. She couldn't get him out of her mind, and she decided to pursue it. He had recently managed to convince her that Sirius was not that bad, just a bit temperamental. Lily had spoken to him on several occasions when she was hanging out with James, and he really did seem rather normal, she hated to admit.

"Because you're my best friend, and you love me?" Lily responded hopefully.

Annabelle shook her head and said, "Absolutely not," as she turned back toward the table. "Isn't there a better way to arrange this, preferably with me NOT as Sirius Black's lab partner?"

Lily frowned, but did not give up. "Come on, Annabelle, please? I just don't feel comfortable asking others to get involved, especially since it's easiest for you and James to just switch. Slughorn won't like his whole class being rearranged either. If it doesn't work out, James will switch back with you."

"No, he won't. And I will be stuck with a lab partner who thinks I'm nothing. Just another half-blood to be stepped on," Annabelle spat back angrily.

"I am telling you, Annie, he isn't that bad. I don't think he is like his family. James told me he doesn't think like that, and from what I've gathered, I believe him. And they aren't little kids anymore. Haven't you noticed that they don't play pranks or get in trouble much anymore? They've matured some, and Sirius is included in that. I really believe he won't be mean to you anymore."

"Or they've just gotten better at hiding what they are up to." Annabelle was so tired of hearing her best friend defending them to her. It was quite a change from last June when she was calling them toerags. "Besides, he won't want to be my lab partner when he knows how bad I am at potions. He is easily the smartest kid in the class in regards to potions, besides you anyway, and I am easily the most inept at them. Why would he ever switch James for me?" she asked.

Annabelle had passed her O.W.L. in Potions with merely an A, and barely at that. She didn't want to be in the class anyway, but Slughorn decided to bend the rules for some students who he claimed he saw "potential" to improve. She wasn't sure what made him think she had potential, but she had a hunch that it had something to do with deceased grandfather's famous name. She agreed to it, only to please Lily who said that as her _lab partner,_ she'd help her through it.

"Because he wants to do a favor for his friend?" Lily asked optimistically.

Annabelle sighed. She knew if she said no, Lily would understand. She would forgive her. But she would also be sad about it for while, hurt that Annabelle couldn't do her a simple favour. Potions was what, three days a week for an hour? Was it really that big a deal? It's not like Sirius Black had ever done or said anything to her personally. He just sneered at her occasionally. Besides, he most likely wouldn't agree to it, being the spoiled brat that he appeared to be.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Lily squealed with delight. "Really? Are you sure Annie? I mean, if you really don't want to, I understand."

"Yes, I will do it. But I highly doubt he will," Annabelle said.

"He already said he'd be willing to do it," Lily replied.

"Oh," Annabelle said, as she wrinkled her nose in disappointment.

Alice Prewett, their dear friend who had been privy to the conversation, added, "He probably thought you were going to say no as well."

"Why don't you switch then, Alice," asked Annabelle. "You and me, Remus and Sirius? There, that solves it!"

"You know I love you, but no way. I have a good thing going with Remus, thank you very much. And you, my dear, are terrible at potions."

"Ouch. Okay then," Annabelle replied. She couldn't see any way around it. "I can't believe I am agreeing to being lab partners with Sirius Black. I must be barking mad," lamented Annabelle.

Lily reassured her, "I promise, if it doesn't work out we will ask Professor Slughorn to switch you back. Don't worry. You know I would do the same for you." She gave Annabelle a quick squeeze before turning to look at James and giving him the thumbs up in return.

Annabelle replied glumly, "This is going to be a smashing good time."


	4. Grudge

The next day, Annabelle was running late. Her job in the library sometimes made her get to Potions just as class was starting. The teacher understood, but she still tried her best to be punctual. She made it just before class started on that particular day. She knew she would have a new lab partner, but she didn't expect that James would already be in her seat, her old seat, without even asking her to be the one to move. She guessed that Lily figured she wouldn't mind. She figured wrong. She marched right up to the lovestruck pair in the first row, ready to demand answers. When they didn't even see her standing there she cleared her throat loudly. They turned to her, their smiles disappearing when they saw the look on her face.

"Um, thanks for making the seating arrangements for me. Couldn't he have moved over here?" she asked quietly through clenched teeth.

"What difference does it make Annie? I just called James over. I didn't think it mattered who actually moved seats." She was now getting on Annabelle's last nerve.

"If you want, I can ask Sirius to come over here," James suggested in what Annabelle took to be a condescending tone. She glared.

"No. Class is going to start. Here, Lily darling, you left your homework in the library. I brought it for you," Annabelle chirped in an overly sweet tone.

"Thanks Annie. What would I do without you?" she responded rather weakly, and Annabelle knew she just wanted her to go away so she could continue canoodling with James. So she did. She turned around and took three strides back to the middle aisle, middle desk where there was empty seat next to a scowling dark-haired boy who was sitting back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. She refused to make eye contact with him, and sat down hard in a huff, slamming her books down on the desk in front of her. She looked toward Lily who was looking back at her with pleading eyes, as if to say _please, please just try to make it work. _Annabelle averted her eyes and began doodling on her parchment, her head in one hand as her elbow rested on the double desk, completely turned away from Sirius Black.

Sirius wasn't too thrilled with his best friend either. When he and James had entered the classroom, they had been laughing and joking about something that happened at last year's Quidditch tryout. As soon as James saw Lily, smiling and beckoning him to sit next to her, James took off to join her, not even a farewell or thanks for the memories. At least Sirius didn't have to be the one to move to the front row. Annabelle wasn't there yet; maybe she wouldn't show up he thought to himself. He hoped she wouldn't. But when she slammed herself down after admonishing the lovebirds, almost smacking him in the face with her hair as she turned away from him, he knew he was right. She didn't want to be next to him anymore more than he wanted to be next to her. How was this ever going to work?

The two didn't look at each other for the duration of the class. Thankfully, since it was the second class of the year, it was mostly lecture. The only classwork could be done individually and was pretty much review from last year. It wasn't easy for Annabelle but she was not going to give him the satisfaction of asking him for help.

As soon as class was over, Sirius grabbed his stuff and took off for the door.

Annabelle waited to leave until he was gone, walking out with Alice who was eager to hear how it went.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sirius sulked all through dinner. James didn't feel bad, though.

"You didn't even talk to her, mate. How can you judge the situation when you two sat there like a couple of little kids?" James asked.

Sirius glared at James, and said, "Kind of hard to have a conversation when she wouldn't even look at me. Not that I wanted to look at her either."

"I'll look at her for you," Peter teased, but when nobody laughed, he said, "I mean, she's not painful to look at. As long as she keeps her mouth shut and doesn't try to hex me or something."

Sirius rolled his eyes, and continued. "We don't like each other. I don't think this arrangement is going to last past the first partner assignment. There is no way you can be lab partners if your partner isn't speaking to you."

"Why not say something to her? Break the ice?" suggested Remus.

"Thanks, Remus. I'd never have thought of that," said Sirius, sarcasm lacing his words.

"It just seems like you are both being ridiculous," Remus offered. "It's simple, just talk to her. If you aren't antagonistic with her, I guarantee she will respond. And before you think that it should be her to talk first; you are both in a place to make the first move. So go for it. Take the high road as they say and talk to her."

"I don't think she should be required to talk to me at all, Remus, nor do I fancy a chat with her. I don't want a fight and I don't need the theatrics. Why don't you switch with her? She could be Alice's partner and you and I could be partners."

"No," Remus replied. "Slughorn will go crazy if we keep trying to rearrange things. And no offense, but Alice and I work well together. It is really that hard for you to be civil to the girl?"

Sirius was feeling anxious. He didn't want to talk about it anymore, despite Remus making good points. "Let's just drop it. We'll see what happens on Friday."

Meanwhile, down the table to where Annabelle was sitting with her friends, the conversation went almost the same. Annabelle tried not to complain because she knew Lily didn't want to hear it. In fact, Lily wanted to pretend there wasn't a problem at all. But Alice, who sat two seats behind Annabelle and Sirius in Potions, wasn't about to let it go.

"I have to say Annabelle, I was disappointed that you two didn't speak even once. You couldn't even say hello to him? Really?" Alice probed.

_Here we go_, Annabelle thought. "He didn't speak to me either." But even as she said it, she realized how childish it sounded. Alice frowned at her. "Oh fine. I acted like a baby. But so did he. And he is just mean." Turning to Lily, she continued, "And before you tell me how nice he is, let me remind you that he has never done anything but glower at me in the halls. It's very hard striking up conversation with someone who thinks you're crap."

Before Lily could respond, Alice said, "But you two have this grudge over some vague, trivial rubbish that happened years ago. Maybe it's time to get over it, and yes, I mean both of you. You both already have one thing in common, too much pride. And if you think he is going to be a prat when you talk to him, let him be. If that's what he's like then at least you will look like the better person. And you know, you might end up becoming friends."

Annabelle was taking a sip of water when she'd said the part about becoming friends and almost snorted it out of her nose. She knew Alice was right about the rest, though; if she was going to make this work it meant getting over herself. He was just so very intimidating, and although Annabelle would never admit that she felt this way to anyone, she didn't feel so good about being disliked for no real reason, especially by the boy everyone admired. She hated to give in though, as she never was one to blindly follow the crowd. Yet she resolved to try to break the ice, for Lily's sake. To see for herself what he was made of and then let her friends know that she was right to ignore him, right to avoid him altogether. Maybe then she could get her lab partner back.

"Fine. Aside from the friends thing, you are right. One of us will have to be the mature one. And I guarantee you, after I speak to him, you will see that I am the only mature one. Now can we change the subject?"

"Yes, please," moaned Lily.

"Why couldn't James' best friend be Rowan Summerby?" Annabelle murmured. "Not that it would matter, but at least he doesn't seem put off by my existence." Rowan was a Hufflepuff, with a sweet face and smile, and a peaceful way about him. He had been her crush since third year, but was in a relationship with another Hufflepuff named Darcy Price.

"You need to stop drooling over that one, Annabelle," warned Alice. "He's taken. You've turned some decent guys down just so you can drool over a guy that's in love with someone else."

Annabelle lowered her head and pushed her food around her plate. "Don't remind me that he's taken," she said. "It ruins the fantasy."


	5. Fair Enough

The next Potions class came sooner than Annabelle would have liked. She actually made it to class a few minutes early, before Sirius even, and sat there gathering her courage. She couldn't quite resolve her feelings. Why should she care what this shallow git thought of her? Did she even care? She didn't think so; maybe it was the idea of confrontation that was the real issue. She didn't care about him or his opinions of her, she just didn't want to be forced to deal with him if he was cruel to her.

And then he arrived. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms again, and she took the same position- elbow on desk, head in hand, body turned away. James gave him a look of urging, which Annabelle didn't see because she was vigorously doodling on her parchment, trying to get the confidence to talk to him. She felt like her forehead was sweating she was so tense over it, but then Slughorn started class. She was ashamed that she felt relieved that she'd missed her chance. She sat upright, and began taking notes, telling herself she would try later to talk to him.

A teacher lecturing a class was no deterrent to Sirius though, who swallowed his pride, and his own intimidation, and finally spoke to the self-righteous witch next to him, lest James think him a chicken. Annabelle jumped when he suddenly leaned forward and whispered quite loudly, "Are you going to give me the silent treatment for the rest of the year?"

Annabelle was blindsided. All along she had been positive she would have to talk to him first. She wasn't prepared for this.

"What do you mean?" she asked indignantly, not looking directly at him out of nervousness and fear the teacher would catch them talking. "It isn't just me participating in the silence. You haven't spoken to me until now."

"Fair enough," he said quietly. There was a pause, and Annabelle thought that was it, just a strange interjection. But a minute later Sirius leaned forward again.

"Since we are lab partners, don't you think we should be able to be civil to each other, at least during class time?"

Annabelle only had negative, nasty responses pop into her mind. She resisted the urge to be sarcastic, and considered his question. She was going to be mature, at least until she figured out his agenda. Then the gloves would be coming off.

"Yes, I do. I am fully willing to communicate with you civilly," she said, still only looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "But we should wait until he's done talking, or we will have detention on the first weekend back."

Detention rarely ever occurred to him, which is probably why he had had so many of them over the years. Missing parts of the lecture certainly didn't affect him. He could pass the final exam in that class without ever setting foot in the classroom. Just glancing at someone's notes and he got it. He was gifted; all things wizarding came easy to him. It amused him that she was so concerned with not getting into trouble. Annabelle heard him laugh, and for the first time, turned and looked him directly in eyes.

She whispered sharply, "You know, potions don't come as easy to me as they do you. I am going to need to listen very closely in here if I am going to contribute to our labs at all. I am not ashamed to say that this class is difficult for me."

Sirius's haughty grin faded then. She may have been a stuck up teacher's pet, _Dumbledore's Darling_ as he and his mates had secretly nicknamed her, but she had just admitted something about herself to him, something that she struggled with, as though she was asking for him let up on her. He suddenly felt bad for laughing, and decided he needed a new approach. His current snarky, defensive one wasn't working. He was just giving her more reasons to dislike him.

Instead of speaking, he wrote on a piece of parchment, **_I can help you, if you want. I am good at potions._**

Annabelle read the note and this time she had to suppress a laugh. Sirius saw her smirk and was put off again. She wrote back, **_Thanks, I think. But I'll manage._**

She must really think he's an arse, he thought. But she had him all wrong, didn't she? Sure, he and his mates had tormented Snivellus on occasion, but he was no saint either, that was for sure. First impressions are important for a reason, though, and Annabelle's first impression of him was that he was a stuck up, malicious troll. Sirius loved a challenge though. And getting her to see him in a better, fairer light was certainly going to be a challenge.


	6. Go Along to Get Along

The weekend came and went, and their first weekend back was a bit of a letdown, at least to Annabelle. She had to work in the library part time and when she was free, Lily was off with James, so it was just her and Alice with a few other girls from their year, catching up and playing card games. It was nice to get back into the swing of things, even though she had to endure a million questions from her nosy boy-crazy dorm mates about being Sirius Black's lab partner, (How can you sit next to him and not melt? Is he nice? Do you think you'll be friends?) she was glad that she didn't have to be near him the entire weekend, even though at one point they made eye contact in the courtyard where he was playing catch with James and she was walking to the library. Of course, they glowered at each other. But Monday was staring her in the face, and once again, she rushed from her job at the library to Potions lab in an attempt to make it on time.

Sirius was already there, talking to Remus, who warmly greeted her. "Hi, Annabelle," he said with his sweet smile. Remus discreetly nudged Sirius at the same time.

"Yes, hi," Sirius muttered as he glanced at her. Remus couldn't help but grin.

"Hi," Annabelle responded flatly as she sat down.

"Okay, we'll talk later, mate," Remus said to Sirius and patted his shoulder. Annabelle couldn't see what sweet gentle Remus had in common with this plonker.

Suddenly, Professor Slughorn announced a pop quiz. The color drained from Annabelle's face and she slunk back in her chair. She never did well on pop quizzes. She just didn't understand the magical properties of potion making well enough. Sirius sensed her sudden gloom, but after the last class, he wasn't about to say anything for fear she would misconstrue it.

The tests were passed out and Sirius breezed through it, while Annabelle stared at her paper and fought the urge to cry. She was afraid of this. For five minutes, she stared at the paper. Then Sirius put his quill down. He noticed she had only written her name. He nudged her arm with his. She looked at him to acknowledge she was listening but looked forward again to avoid trouble. Sirius slowly nudged his paper toward her so she could easily see his answers. She looked to see what he was doing then gave a discreet shake of the head to say no. She was not going to copy from him, someone who she didn't even trust as far as she could throw him. She went through and began guessing. But he was watching, and gently nudged her foot with his own. She glanced at him, and he shook his head, signaling she was putting the wrong answer. She erased it. She guessed again and he signaled that she was right. This was ridiculous though. It was still cheating. She guarded her paper with her arm and Sirius gave up trying to help her. She would rather fail a test than accept his help. Was she crazy? He was astounded by her stubbornness. And now she probably thought even worse of him, the goody-two-shoes.

While the quizzes were being collected, Sirius took the chance to try again.

"Listen, I wasn't being a tosser when I offered to help you with Potions the other day, alright? Is it so hard to believe I might be sincere?" he asked her.

She turned to him. She was incredulous, really. "Honestly? You want to help me? You want to do a good deed for me?"

He didn't respond. She continued anyway, looking right at him. "You can stop sneering at me every time you make eye contact with me if you really want to do a good deed. In the halls, the common room, outside, in the library. The smirks, the glares, all of it. Maybe then I might be more open to your sincerity."

Now it was his turn to be incredulous. "Wait just a minute," he replied. "I was under the impression that you were giving me the nasty looks. Every time, even if I made eye contact by accident, you would scowl. So maybe if you'd stop giving the looks, I would stop returning them to you."

Annabelle, for the first time since she'd become his lab partner, laughed. "Are you taking the mick? You must be. Because I was only returning your dirty looks. So what do you think of that?" She then saw Lily and James turn around a shoot them reproachful glances and Lily raised a finger to her lips to shush them. Sirius and Annabelle ignored them.

He was exasperated, and retorted in a hushed voice, "I think… I think…." But he didn't know what to say. He was confused. They were both claiming the same thing. He looked down. "Ah... I don't know what to think. I know you don't like me much, and I know it's because you thought I was targeting Snape. And I guess I was, sort of, but you don't know the whole story. You don't know what Snape…" and he stopped. When he looked at her, he saw that she was looking at him like a human being for a change. "And I haven't always been very polite with you in general.… You must think I'm a monster," he said resignedly.

"Miss O'Neill and Mr. Black!" Professor Slughorn scolded. "Please pay attention." All eyes turned on two of them, and again, Lily and James made pleading faces for them to stop, no doubt because they feared switching back to their original lab partners. Annabelle rolled her eyes and looked away.

She was taken aback by what Sirius had just said. A monster? She tried her best to respond. "No…no. I don't," she whispered. "I mean, a monster? That's pretty harsh, and you obviously think I am harsh. Did I think you and James were both mean? Yes, not that I really give a fig about Snape. I don't know how you and I got to this place, really, I mean maybe we both contributed to it. But you are right. I don't know the whole story. So I am sorry for that. I am sorry for giving the impression that I thought you were a monster. We don't really know each other at all, yet we acted as if we did. I'm rambling. I'll stop."

"O'Neill and Black! I said enough talking!" Professor Slughorn admonished again.

Sirius paused and when the teacher turned his back, he said, "Strangely enough, that made sense. Maybe we could cut each other a little slack, since we don't really know each other. At least for the sake of passing this class."

"Oh, please," Annabelle said in a soft voice. "You will pass this class no matter who your lab partner is. I'm the one that's in trouble, now that I lost Lily as my partner."

"Well, if we could get past our grudges, then maybe I can help you," Sirius whispered. "I am not trying to show off. I just want to help."

"Last warning Black and O'Neill," Professor Slughorn threatened.

She still wasn't sure if he was being sincere, or if he was messing with her. She just couldn't bring herself to trust him completely, even though she wanted to believe him. After a few minutes, Annabelle whispered again to Sirius. "I am willing to start over if you are. But that means an end to all dirty looks and the snickering."

"That sounds like a plan. Let's shake on it and start fresh." As they shook hands, he said in an overly cheerful voice, "Hello there. My name is Sirius Black. I see we are going to be lab partners this year. Nice to meet you."

Annabelle grinned in spite of herself. "And I'm Annabelle O'Neill. I look forward to working with you."

Sirius laughed. "Co-workers. I'll take it."

"Alright. Detention, Mr. Black and Ms. O'Neill. Saturday at 1 PM sharp, scrubbing floors. See you here." Their smiles turned to frowns immediately.

"Oh come on," Sirius muttered. "Already?"

"There goes the first Hogsmeade trip for us," bemoaned Annabelle. Lab partners with him for barely a week, and already she was in trouble.

Now they were both scowling, but for once it wasn't at each other. And for a third time, James and Lily glared at them, this time with annoyance and disappointment on their faces. James was visibly angry at Sirius, who rolled his eyes and looked away. Annabelle just shrugged at Lily and threw up her hands as if to say, too late now.

When class ended, and they were gathering their things, Sirius said, "I don't want to wait around for the lecture from James, so I am going to bolt. I meant what I said about helping you though…" his voice trailed off as he disappeared out the door. James followed close behind him, an exasperated look on his face, but Lily caught up to Annabelle just as she was attempting her own escape.

"Good job, Annabelle. Now you can't go to Hogsmeade," she chided.

"So what," Annabelle remarked. "Hogsmeade is a boring little town. And don't pretend you weren't going to sneak off with James anyway, so what difference does it make if I am there or not?"

Lily flinched. "Ouch Annabelle. I'm sorry you think that little of me. I wish you could be happy for me." She turned to walk away.

Annabelle reached out to stop her. "Wait, Lily." Lily stopped and turned back to face her. Annabelle softened. "I didn't mean it that way. Of course I am happy for you. Sure I miss you sometimes, but I know how much you care about him and I'd never begrudge you what makes you happy. I was just saying it as a matter of fact. Things are changing, they are, and you know as well as I do that you would want to spend time with him in Hogsmeade, just the two of you. And there is nothing wrong with that. I wasn't being rude when I said that. I just meant that you won't even know I'm not there, so why fret about it?"

Lily had tears in her eyes. "Are you sure you're not mad at me for spending so much time with James? Because if you are, I totally understand. If it was the other way around and you were off with some chap all the time, I'd miss you something awful."

"I am not mad. But like I said, it's bound to happen sooner or later. I'm okay with that. Really. And don't worry about me and any chap. No one is even slightly interesting to me so far this year, besides Rowan of course," Annabelle said as she feigned a yawn.

They started toward the door. Lily replied with an impish grin, "Not even your new lab partner?"

"Ha! Not even him. Contrary to popular belief not every girl at Hogwarts wants to date Sirius Black."

"You two couldn't seem to stop talking to each other today," Lily goaded.

"And? Good grief, Lily, we were just hashing out our differences so we could clear the air like you and James wanted. It was nothing more than that. I still don't even know him, and honestly, I still don't trust him."

"But you cleared up your differences? Really?" Lily asked hopefully.

"For the most part. At the very least we are going to work on being more polite when we see each other."

"That's a good start. I am proud of you. Tell me how it happened," Lily said as she the two girls linked arms and headed to the Great Hall for dinner.

By the time they arrived, Lily had the basics. She was disappointed that the pair hadn't become instant friends, but that was up to them, and required patience. She wouldn't push the issue anymore.


	7. Smirks to Smiles

Of course at dinner, all the Gryffindor sixth year girls at their section of the table had a million questions. Some said they were jealous that she was going to do detention with Sirius Black. Some wanted to know what he smelled like. Annabelle was beyond annoyed.

"Listen, I told you. We were arguing most of the class, then decided for the sake of passing the class, we would go along to get along. That's ALL. There were no marriage proposals, make-out sessions, or anything else you might have in mind. Geesh, can we let it go already? This is so embarrassing."

Dominica, a fellow sixth year who was normally friendly with Annabelle, had been sitting quietly, not contributing to the conversation. Now, she narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Next thing you're going to say is that you don't think he's attractive." Everyone got quiet, looking from Dominica to Annabelle.

Annabelle was hurt by her friend's tone. "Nooo…. Actually, I can acknowledge that he is good-looking. I'm not blind. We just haven't exactly been friends if you know what mean. And even if we had been friendly from the start, what do looks have to do with Potions Lab? It doesn't really matter what he looks like, does it? I'm sorry, but I don't get the connection." Dominica didn't answer, but instead shook her head, a condescending smirk plastered on her face. Annabelle was annoyed by her sudden unpleasant attitude, but didn't feel like getting into it with another person again today.

"Oh, but Annabelle, he's so beautiful. How can you remain calm sitting next to him, looking at him, speaking to him?! I wouldn't be able to focus on Potions!" Septima Scroggie wailed.

Sensing her friend's frustration, Alice answered for her. "Annabelle knows looks are only skin deep. Now let's change the subject, already."

"Yes, let's please," Lorelei Twonk, a gruff, husky sixth year blurted out, her mouth full of food. "Just shut up about him already."

Annabelle mouthed a thank-you to her diminutive but mighty friend, Alice. The truth was, Annabelle did think he was handsome. She'd be a fool to pretend he wasn't. She hadn't cared though, because she thought he was a malicious person. After today, she wasn't so sure, but one conversation wasn't enough to convince her. She wasn't going to let his looks distract her, if for no other reason than she really didn't want to turn into Septima Scroggie.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Remus was shaking his head as he listened to James berate Sirius for getting a detention for the first Saturday in Hogsmeade. Sirius had had enough.

"Look, mate, you wanted me to make amends with her. Well, that just doesn't happen in the blink of an eye. One actually has to talk to the person and sort things out. And she still isn't fond of me, honestly."

"When Slughorn told you to stop, why didn't you just stop and talk to her after class?" James demanded.

"Because it was a heated discussion. I didn't want to leave it without resolving it then and there. And neither did she, because she was talking just as much as I was. What are you grinning at, Moony?" Sirius asked Remus.

"I just think it's funny that James wanted you to talk to her, you do what he asks, and now he is mad at you for talking to her," explained Remus.

"I am not mad about that! I am just mad that he didn't stop!" James exclaimed, running his hand through his messy hair.

"You will barely know I'm not there," Sirius assured. "You'll be with Lily most of the time anyway. So what is the big deal?"

James thought about it. It was true. He was so used to spending the afternoons in Hogsmeade with his mates. It hadn't occurred to him that it would be different this year. It made him wistful and he grew silent.

"I didn't mean that as an insult, it's just reality," Sirius said, quietly.

"I know," said James. "Are you going to use the replacement wand?" The replacement wand was the extra wand they had procured from James' parents after James had pretended to lose his original.

"Not sure yet. I mean, what if she tells?" asked Sirius.

"She won't," Remus said assuredly. "She's not like that, I keep telling you."

Sirius thought about it. Remus seemed to know her slightly better than the rest of them. "Maybe I will use it then. And for the record, I don't really want to spend Saturday afternoon stuck here either. But at least Annabelle and I are on better terms, so that should cheer you up. Your lab partnership with Lily is not in imminent danger."

"Well, that is good news," James agreed.

Caradoc Dearborn, another sixth year and fellow team member nudged Sirius, and said smarmily, "Hey, if you don't want her for a lab partner, I'll take her, mate."

Edmund Kittle added, "I'd like her to be my partner in more ways than one!"

Sirius knew they were just showing off, but felt compelled to redirect the conversation from Annabelle. He didn't like hearing the rude talk about girls. It felt predatory. "Knock it off, she's a human being. Never thought I would say she's lucky to have me for a lab partner instead of the likes of you toerags."

"Oh, relax, we're just taking the piss." Caradoc said.

"You shouldn't take the piss like that," interjected Johnny Bemis aka Johnny B., the only openly gay student at Hogwarts, and also the most awesome Chaser the Gryfinndor Quidditch team had ever known. "Makes you sound like a pervert." Johnny B. was friends with all the sixth year Gryfinndor girls. He was staggeringly handsome with his thick shocks of raven hair and ice blue eyes, hilariously funny, and was as kind-hearted as the day is long. Even though none of the girls had a chance with him, they were drawn to him like moths to the flame, so he didn't always feel comfortable when his mates made crude remarks about any of them.

"Whatever. Enjoy your detention, mate," Caradoc said.

"I will, thank you very much," Sirius stated matter-of-factly.

As the students were filing out of the Great Hall after dinner, Sirius and Annabelle saw each other. The initial response was almost to grimace, but they both remembered their deal. Sirius smiled, then twisted his face into an exaggerated grin. Annabelle couldn't help but laugh, then pointed at her own embellished, squinty-eyed smile. Sirius laughed, too. Of course, her friends noticed, started freaking out, and Annabelle had to explain. Annabelle thought it was funny how ever since Sirius Black became her lab partner, her fellow Gryffindors had taken a sudden interest in her relationship with him. Such nutters, they were.

This happened a few more times before the next lab. In passing in the halls, in the library, in the Great Hall at breakfast, Sirius and Annabelle were forced to smile at each other if they were to uphold their bargain. And every time, they made it silly and exaggerated, just so the other would be sure it was a smile and not a glare. People were starting to notice, mainly because this was a pair that never spoke to each other and that avoided each other at all costs just over a week ago.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next Potions class was there before she knew it, and Annabelle, for the first time since becoming Sirius Black's lab partner, was not nervous or annoyed. She wasn't thrilled about it, because he was still pretty much a stranger so she didn't know quite how it would work out long term, and let's face it, she missed sitting with her best friend. But at least she no longer felt like she was being fed to the wolves. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought. Lily warned her to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't get another ridiculous detention.

She sat down just as class was starting. Sirius acknowledged her by nodding his head, which let her know he was trying to be on his best behavior too. After the lecture, they had to work together on the assignment. Once again, Annabelle was lost, but she let Sirius explain everything over again, this time more slowly, in his own way. When she didn't comprehend something, he was very patient, and instead of laughing at her like she thought he would, he was very nice. It actually made more sense when he explained it, so maybe he was right. Maybe she could use his extra help to understand. Lily was great at Potions, but she couldn't explain them to save her life. For the first time at Hogwarts, Annabelle felt like she wasn't guessing at Potions. A small part of her still didn't like accepting his help, but she needed the help so she swallowed her pride.

At the end of class, Annabelle said, "Thanks. You actually cleared up a lot of that lesson for me."

Sirius looked down to gather his belongings, slightly affected by her thanks, and said, "It's no problem, really. It's only right since we are partners now. In fact, I can help you with homework, too. I know Slughorn likes to throw some tricks in there."

"That's very nice of you. I may take you up on that. I wish I could return the favor, but I think you are pretty well set in every subject," Annabelle said as she slung her rucksack over her shoulder.

Sirius smiled, "Not quite every subject, but mostly."

They even started walking to the door together, forgetting to wait for Lily and James. "By the way, I think we can stop with the crazy smiles now, don't you? I think my face is going to crack the next time I see you," Sirius joked.

Annabelle grinned and said, "That's fine with me. People will think we lost our minds if we keep it up."

"That's not to say I want to go back to the old way of things," he said. "That whole battle of the dirty looks thing was miserable."

"Of course not. The days of dirty looks are gone."

Sirius replied, "That's a relief." And he meant it. He didn't realize how stressful encounters had been with her until they had made amends and stopped the bad behavior. A weight had been lifted for both of them.


	8. Sweetie

Potions was cancelled on Friday due to an Activities Assembly and Fair in the Great Hall. First Dumbledore spoke of all the extracurricular opportunities at Hogwarts, and how they should all get involved in the school community. Then students went around to different tables where a few kids from those clubs were stationed in order to give out information to prospective members. The Quidditch teams had a table; the team captains all ready to recruit new additions to the team. James, captain of the Gryffindor team, and Sirius, who was there to help, had to be there for the duration of the fair, and of course, Lily couldn't stay away from James for that long.

"Let's just go over and say hi, Annie. Please?" Lily begged.

"Lil, he's busy. Don't you think he will get annoyed that his girlfriend is hanging around? I feel silly going over there. It's all boys!" Annabelle replied. The Quidditch teams at Hogwarts at this point were only comprised of males; years had passed without a single female player, even though there was nothing in the rules that said girls couldn't play. Annabelle always thought that was a shame, considering other schools and even professional teams had female players. Not that Annabelle wanted to play. Quidditch looked like a terrifying sport from her perspective. She felt bad that there might be girls that did want to play, but were under the impression that they weren't welcome.

"Come on, just for minute. Just to say hi. We won't stay. But I don't want him to think I am ignoring him either," Lily pleaded.

"Fine, but just for a minute. And if I sense that they are annoyed, I am going to go. You can stay if you want." Annabelle hadn't forgotten how they'd laughed at her last year, just because they could.

This was good enough for Lily, and they walked casually over to the table.

"Hey, sweetie, how's it going?" Lily asked a little too eagerly.

James blushed at being called sweetie in front of his friends, which made Annabelle chuckle a little. Sirius couldn't hide the smile that formed on his face as well.

"Just a little busy right now," James said.

Sirius said cheerfully, trying to cut the tension, "Hey, Annabelle. Enjoying the fair?"

"Oh yes, so crushed that I have to leave for work in a few minutes," she joked.

Sirius laughed and so did Lily, but James didn't. Sirius nudged his arm in an attempt to get him to mind his manners, so he gave a fake laugh and looked back at the paper in front of him. He was acting like a jerk over the sweetie comment.

"Can you come back later, Lily? We are trying to recruit team members, so…" James murmured, still looking at the paper.

Annabelle suddenly felt very protective toward Lily, whose smile had dimmed and the hurt and contempt were starting to show.

"Sure," Lily snapped angrily. "See you later." She took Annabelle's arm and turned to go.

"Hold on," Annabelle said boldly. "Girls are allowed to sign up for tryouts, too, right?"

James smirked arrogantly. "Sure, if they want to. Are you two here to sign up?" He laughed as though he had made a joke and nudged Sirius's arm as if Sirius thought this was funny too. But Sirius didn't laugh at the comment. He shifted uncomfortably instead.

Annabelle was not swayed. "No. But your condescending attitude right now makes me think you find the idea of us trying out for the team humorous, solely because we are girls."

"Here we go," James said uncomfortably, but Sirius was focused intently on what she was saying.

"Annabelle, come on, it's not a big deal. I will see him later," Lily said as she tried to pull her friend away.

Annabelle pressed on though. "If you want to recruit players, you really should change your attitude. You may be laughing at someone with great potential, a champion even, cheating her out of her destiny merely because of her gender. What a shame, really. You know McGonagall played, don't you?"

"Yeah, and she got injured so badly she had to quit," James retorted.

"In her last year!" spat Annabelle.

She was shaking with anger, and turned to walk away. Lily followed, shooting a look that could kill at James, who waved but could not mask his irritation. Sirius was speechless for a minute.

"Barmy loon, now I remember why we couldn't stand her," James said.

Sirius was still thinking, trying to process what happened. Finally he spoke.

"You know, I think she had a point actually."

"About what? Why should I care if a girl wants to try out?"

"Come on, you were kind of cold to Lily, and Annabelle was just sticking up for her. You were the one who laughed at the prospect of them trying out. You might want to apologize to them for that, unless you want to lose your lab partner. Slughorn isn't going to keep switching back and forth at your whim."

James was exasperated. "Come on, man! You know they weren't here to sign up!"

"I know that. But your making a joke of the idea can be easily interpreted as being opposed to girls playing Quidditch," Sirius said.

"Well, I'm not," James said.

"Think about it. How many girls here might want to play but don't bother because we've always only had boys on the team? Maybe we should be working harder to recruit them. I mean, we don't have a lot of prospects so far this year."

"Fine, Sirius. We can recruit girls for the team. Fine. How do we do that?"

"Well, we can start by adding to our sign that we are looking for boys _and _girls." Sirius pulled the sign off the table. When he was done, he stood up on his chair, cleared his throat and shouted, "Can I have your attention, everyone! Your attention please!" And because it was Sirius Black, a hush fell over the Grand Hall. He was pleased with himself, and continued, "Gryffindor Quidditch team does not discriminate based on gender. We encourage male and females to please sign up for tryouts if you are so inclined. Thank you!" And he sat down.

There was moment of silence as the room processed what he had just said, then all at once, some students started applauding, some booing, others laughing, or discussing. But not a single girl signed up that day.

Lily, who had been on the other side of the hall with Alice, sitting in a corner and fuming over what a tosser James had been, couldn't believe her ears. Annabelle had gone to the library to work so she missed the show. Were they serious? She knew one thing for sure, it wasn't James' idea.

Annabelle couldn't believe her ears either when Alice and Lily told her what had taken place. Did he really mean it? Or was he doing it for a laugh? Oh how she wished she had stuck around a little longer. She hated wondering if Sirius was being an arse to her again, or he was genuinely extending an invitation to girls to be on the team. He hadn't seemed amused by James' immature attitude, but still, she couldn't be sure. She would just have to ask him at detention, which was tomorrow.

Poor Lily was now having second thoughts about getting back together with James. He was so dismissive of her, so immature, and she felt like she'd been had. He promised that things would be different this time. She didn't know what to do.

"And don't say I told you so, Annabelle," Lily said.

"I'm not planning to," Annabelle replied.

"You were right, though. I should have left him alone," she said regretfully.

"No, I mean, yes we shouldn't have gone over there, but not because it was the wrong thing to do. You were right to want to say hi to your boyfriend. He's still got some growing up to do though, so I just had a feeling that he would get embarrassed. You didn't do anything wrong," said Annabelle.

"I called him sweetie in front of his mates," Lily said with remorse.

"So, what? If he was mature and secure about himself and his relationship with you then he wouldn't have cared how his mates reacted. He would have been thrilled to see you instead of annoyed and embarrassed. It isn't you, Lily, he is just really juvenile still. Most boys are."

Lily wiped a tear as Alice patted her back. "She's right, Lily. Why do you think I prefer older men?" Alice had recently begun dating Frank Longbottom, who had graduated from Hogwarts a year ago. "They know what they want and aren't ashamed of it."

"You are both right. Why oh why do I love him so? How long must I wait til he's ready to be mature?" Lily cried.

"You don't wait, Lily. You live your life," Alice said. Lily thought about it, but couldn't face breaking up with him just yet. Instead, she decided she was through talking about him for the night.


	9. Detention

Saturday came much more quickly than Annabelle had hoped it would. Normally, she looked forward to the first trip into Hogsmeade every year. This year though, she was going to be stuck inside all afternoon scrubbing the Potions lab floors. With Sirius Black, no less, who she couldn't tell if he was was a tosser or not. She had to work in the library that morning, while Sirius was off at Quidditch tryouts. Apparently no girls had signed up, despite his appeal.

She met her friends for lunch and the girls ate in relative silence. Lily was still upset over James, who had not even looked at her that morning. Annabelle was moping over having detention. Alice was sad that her friends were sad. They were a miserable lot. Finally, as she was about to say her farewells, she noticed briefly a few other girls faces light up. She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Sirius Black.

"Come on then," he said jovially. "You're not thinking of bailing on detention now are you?"

Annabelle was surprised to see him so chipper about detention. He was certainly a tough one to figure out.

"Just about to head over now." Annabelle got up while Sirius waited for her.

"Hi Lily, you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Hi Sirius, yes, I am fine," she responded unconvincingly. He was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, ready to do some dirty work. Annabelle was wearing old jeans and a sweatshirt. Their worn garments clashed with the trendy outfits of the students going to Hogsmeade that afternoon. She grabbed her wand and waved bye to her friends.

"Have fun!" Alice called.

Annabelle shot her a look that said _yeah right_. Sirius just laughed.

"Yeah, have fun!" Johnny B. hollered from further down the table, so loud that people turned to look. He was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Annabelle had to stifle a laugh. Johnny B. cracked her up.

When they headed out into the outdoor corridor toward Potions, Annabelle asked, "What are you so merry about?"

"Nothing really, except it's a beautiful day for a detention," he proclaimed, and Annabelle started to wonder if he was a bit touched in the head.

When they got there, Professor Slughorn and a very stern looking Professor McGonagall were waiting for them.

"Great. You're on time," replied Slughorn. He went over the routine, and confiscated their wands.

"I'll take them, Professor Slughorn," said McGonagall. "You don't have to wait for them to finish. Go enjoy your Saturday. They will report to me when they are done."

"All right Headmistress. I appreciate it. Mr. Black and Miss O'Neill, may this be the last time you defy my orders to stop talking in class. Have a good day all," and he left.

McGonagall wasn't finished. "Unfortunately, I've come to expect this defiance from you Mr. Black, but Miss O'Neill, this is very out of character for you."

Sirius seemed used to this type of speech, but Annabelle was new to it, and felt awful. McGonagall had become like a mother to her over the years, and Annabelle hated to disappoint her.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Annabelle said, eyes cast down.

"Let's not let it happen again. I will check on your progress in a half hour, but then I am off to Hogsmeade. When I get back I expect to see you both in my office where you may retrieve your wands and tell me what you learned from this experience. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," they intoned together.

"Very well, then." She stalked out of the room and they listened as her footsteps grew more distant. Sirius tiptoed over to the door and looked out. Then he relaxed.

"She's gone," he said flatly.

"So?" Annabelle said.

"So, I guess we should get started is all." Sirius thought about the replacement wand that he had stuck in his sock. Remus said he could trust her. He wasn't sure at first, but now, he believed that to be true. Annabelle might be self-righteous, but apparently she wasn't a blagger. She had managed to keep Remus' Lycanthropy a secret all these years, so that was something.

"Is she always so lax about detention?" Annabelle asked, surprised that they were going to be pretty much unsupervised.

"No. But you are different I guess. She must figure she can trust you to oversee things, and babysit me," he said with an amused chuckle.

Annabelle pushed up her sleeves and pulled a scrub brush from the soapy water.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked.

"Scrubbing the floor?" Annabelle replied, a bit confused.

"Put it back."

"What? Why?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Sirius asked as he came over and knelt in front of her.

Annabelle sat back on her heels, scrub brush still in hand. "Depends what it is," she answered, apprehensively.

"What if the secret involved a perfectly simple way of scrubbing these floors without actually having to lift a finger?"

Annabelle looked across the vast classroom. She knew they would be doing this exhausting job well into the evening hours.

"I could be persuaded to keep a secret of that sort," she said, still uneasy.

Sirius pulled up the leg of his sweatpants and pulled a wand from his sock.

"This is going to do the work for us," he said as he revealed it, a mischievous grin materializing on his face.

Annabelle looked at the wand, then at Sirius.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Remember, you said you could keep a secret," he warned.

She was getting annoyed. "I'm not going to tell. Now explain, please."

"It's a wand James' parents sent him first year when he thought he lost his. Well... that isn't entirely true. He told them he lost his so we could have some help during detentions, and they sent him this old one of his dad's to use until they could take him to Diagon Alley for a proper one. James then told them he found his original after getting this one, and that was that."

"But won't it only work for his Dad?"

"It would only work well for him, but it works for minor spells and charms, like the ones we used first year. It works great for cleaning, I'll tell ya."

"Wow, you lot have a penchant for the devious, don't you?" asked Annabelle.

Sirius laughed. "I guess so, but we were only twelve when we devised this one. We were much more devious back then."

"What if we get caught?" she asked soberly.

"We aren't going to get caught. Listen, McGonagall said she's coming back in a half hour. So we splash a little water on ourselves, and Scourgify about a half hour's worth of work onto the floor. She checks, sees us with the brushes in hand, sees the progress, and off she goes to Hogsmeade. We stay here a little longer, Scourgify some more, and off we go."

"Go where?"

"Anywhere, really. Anywhere that we can't get caught, that is. Most of the professors are off in Hogsmeade and the kids that don't go are either sick or they have detention like us. So there aren't that many people around except for Filch, Hagrid, Madame Pomfrey, and the underclassmen being babysat by one or two professors. We just avoid them, that's all. And if one of them sees us, and questions us, we just explain that we are taking a ten-minute-break from our detention."

He made it sound so easy.

"Well, I'm all for Scourgifying the place. The thought of scrubbing this whole floor is rather depressing. I just hate to trick McGonagall. She's always been so kind to me."

Sirius softened his voice again. "Don't forget, Annabelle, she didn't give us the detention. She is just doing Slughorn a favor. And if she was that concerned, wouldn't she have left someone else in charge of us, instead of leaving us to our own devices and heading over to Hogsmeade? She is not that invested in this. It's not like we were caught stealing or something. We were talking in class. In fact, this punishment is a little harsh considering that, no?"

Annabelle thought about it. "Alright. I suppose I don't want to be the only one in here scrubbing floors, so I'm in. But if we get caught, it's back to dirty looks from here on out."

Sirius laughed exuberantly. "I'll take my chances," he said with a wink.

After Scourgifying a small part of the back of the room, they relaxed and waited for McGonagall to come check on them. Annabelle figured it was as good a time as any to bring up what happened the day before at the Activities Fair.

"So," she said casually, "I heard you made a big announcement at the fair. What was that all about?"

Sirius looked at her hesitantly, unsure if she had taken it the wrong way or not.

"Not sure what you heard, but I was being sincere. You made a good point. I never thought about girls not being on the Hogwarts teams, but after James acted like a wanker, I realized that maybe we put out the wrong message. I meant it, Annabelle; I welcome anyone, regardless of gender to try out for the team. We need good players, full stop. Some of my teammates weren't so pleased with me afterwards, but I stood my ground. Unfortunately, it didn't work."

Annabelle was impressed. He was always surprising her, this one. Just when she started to think he was only interested in mischief with his replacement wand, he turns the tables and shows himself to be thoughtful and fair-minded.

"Then I applaud your efforts," said Annabelle.

"You thought it was joke, didn't you?" asked Sirius.

"I wasn't sure, really. Can't always tell with you lads."

"Maybe that is why it didn't work. Maybe the girls thought we were kidding," he said, feeling defeated.

"It's possible. But you can keep talking about it, even asking some of the girls more inclined to athletics to try out, or at least to practice with you when you are all out there on Sunday afternoons just playing for fun."

"That's an idea. But like I said, except for Johnny B., my teammates aren't too keen on the idea. Nor are the other teams. I wonder why this mentality is found only here. I mean, there aren't a ton of female players, but they are out there, and they are good. We could use them on our team this year, as we are sorely lacking." Sirius mused. "Hogwarts needs to get with the times."

Annabelle never thought much about Quidditch. It didn't interest her. It was dangerous, and rather boring to watch after a while. She knew she was in the minority there, but sports just weren't her thing. He was obviously struggling with this though, and he loved the sport.

"Good luck then. I hope you find the players you need. I'd hate to see Slytherin win." What a change from last year, when she was, rather selfishly she could admit, glad Slytherin won.

"Me too," he said, as his eyes narrowed, clearly thinking about the loss.

Just then, they heard the familiar sound of McGonagall's shoes clicking along the corridor. She was coming to check on them. They quickly splashed a little water on themselves, even giving each other a little playful splash, then got into scrubbing position.

She surveyed their progress and appeared pleased.

"Good. Keep going. Maybe you will be finished by dinner time. Let this be a lesson to you. If you finish before we return, you may study, go to the library, or get some fresh air outside." Now she looked directly at Sirius. "You must not get yourselves into more trouble. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," they chanted. She gave them a severe look, turned, and exited.

After checking that she was indeed gone, Sirius suggested, "Let's Scourgify a big part of the room now. No one will be checking up on us so if we aren't here when and if they finally do, it will look like we'd been hard at work."

What didn't this kid think of?

"Where are you going to go?" Annabelle asked him, just supposing that he would want to go off by himself.

"We should probably stick together. What if one of us gets seen without the other? That might look suspicious, like we are making the other do all the work. If we are together, it is more believable that we were just taking a short break."

Again, he had all the answers. "Okay," Annabelle said, "Where are _we_ going?"

"What would you like to do?"

"Honestly, I can't think of much. Exploring the castle could be fun, but if Filch catches us, we won't be able to explain that one."

They sat in silence for few minutes, considering their options. Sirius perked up suddenly.

"I have an idea," he said sheepishly.

"This doesn't sound good already," laughed Annabelle. "What is it? Go ahead, tell me."

"You could come out to the pitch with me. Help me practice," Sirius suggested, then braced himself for her reply.

Now Annabelle laughed sharply. "How can I be of any help? I don't even understand the game. Bludgers, Snitches, Quaffles; I can't keep them straight."

"Then I can teach you!" Sirius was invigorated by this idea. When his face lit up like that, she could see why all the girls went crazy for him. Again, he knelt in front of her where she sat, and tried to convince her that this was a good idea. The wand was one thing, but this was too much.

Embarrassed, but desperate to steer him away from this ludicrous idea, she decided that the truth might be the only thing to sway him.

"No way. I am too scared. Quidditch scares me, Sirius. Not watching it, of course, but the idea of playing it. No. I just can't."

Sirius frowned slightly as he tried to figure her out. One minute she seemed fearless, the next, scared of her own shadow. "I won't let anything happen to you Annabelle. You don't even have to play if you don't want. You can just throw some Quaffles at the goal posts and let me practice blocking them."

"Why do you think I even know how to throw a Quaffle?" she asked, chuckling with exasperation.

"I saw you throw a book in the library once. A doxy had flown out from behind a bookshelf and startled you. You winged that book at it so hard I thought you might break the stained glass windows at the other end of the room."

Annabelle remembered this occasion. "Yes, but that was because I was startled. It was adrenaline that gave me that power."

"You underestimate yourself. But it's okay. We don't have to. We can go study or something. Did you do your potions homework yet? If not I can help you," he said as he stood up to go.

Now, Annabelle felt he was disappointed. In her. He obviously thinks this Quidditch thing is just a fun way to pass the time, fun for him anyway. And here she is acting all cowardly, and probably coming off as very dull indeed. Boring seemed to be a quality he and he friends despised most in others. She wasn't sure why she cared what he thought, but she felt the need to prove she wasn't dull, or a coward.

"Potions homework can wait," she said reluctantly. "Let's go out to the pitch."

Sirius grinned excitedly, and said, "Are you sure, I mean I don't want to do anything you don't want to do."

Annabelle shook her head, "It's fine. It's about time I learned about Quidditch. Just don't let me get hurt, okay? Be gentle. I am a complete novice."

"That is a promise," he said, as he took her hand and eagerly pulled her toward the door.


	10. Rules of the Game

**A/N: I know some Canon purists insist Sirius Black didn't play Quidditch (I don't think it ever says he doesn't either), but I think it is such a gray area. When I think of a boy like Sirius whose best friend is a star athlete, personally, I think he would naturally be one too. It just makes sense to me, and since this is all in good fun, I'm just going with it. :) **

* * *

Once they were out on the pitch, they sat down with copies of the rulebook. Sirius began to explain and Annabelle paid close attention. She already looked like a muppet in Potions, but that was because she really didn't understand. This she could get, but she had to force herself to pay attention to it because she was just not interested.

"Did I lose you, yet?" he asked.

"No. I think I got it," she said.

"You're bored aren't you?" he said. He felt bad that he had dragged her out there to do something she obviously wasn't interested in.

"No, I mean, it isn't my thing, but it's nice to finally understand what's going on during games."

"Games you'd rather not even be at," he muttered.

"Well, now I have a reason to be at the games. I finally understand what's going on. And another reason; my lab partner is the Keeper. So there, I have two reasons to be there. I told you I would help you practice, even though you are going to be sorely disappointed. But I will stay true to my word, so just tell me what you want me to do."

After a little while, Sirius was bored. She could throw, but she wasn't really making things that challenging for him. He tried taunting her like he did other Chasers, just to get her going, shouting, "Is that all you've got!" and, "My house elf throws better than that!" But her response was either, "Yes, that's all I've got," or laughter at his inane commentary.

"Okay, you want a turn? Let's switch," he suggested.

She sighed but went along with it. Sirius couldn't help but laugh at how silly she looked, barely even moving, let alone trying to block the Quaffle.

"At least we know you won't be vying for my position as Keeper," he said.

"I guess I was chosen last for teams at my Muggle primary school for a reason," she quipped.

"Come on, now, don't be so pessimistic. Want to try playing beater?" he ventured, as long as she was going along with things. He thought again about her defensive reaction to the Doxy in the library. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was best when in a defensive role.

"Ummmmm, no?" Annabelle replied. Was he crazy? Wait, yes, yes he was it turned out.

"We can try it low to the ground, just one Bludger, instead of two. It will be coming for me, not you. You just have to smack it away so it doesn't hit me, yeah?" Annabelle could see how much he loved this sport; he was so eager to play he would accept someone as hopeless as her as a playmate. Bless his heart; he was trying so hard to make it interesting for her.

She sighed. "Fine, but as soon as that thing comes at me, you are on your own."

Sirius laughed and said, "No problem."

After a few false starts, where Sirius had to dodge the Bludger because Annabelle wasn't quite sure what to do, she finally gave it her best shot. She succeeded in sending the Bludger flying away from Sirius, but she fell off her broom in the process. Sirius had been wise to have them play low to the ground. She landed on her back with a thud, and lay still for a moment, waiting for the pain to rush in. Sirius was beside her in a flash.

"Are you okay? You were right. This was a bad idea," he fretted.

Annabelle moved slowly, and managed to sit up. "Actually, I feel fine. Nothing hurts, but I'd like to never do that again, if you don't mind."

"You hit that thing pretty hard," Sirius said. "Impressive. But maybe not the best position for you."

His concern for her well being was unexpected and he was proving to be different she thought he was. The Sirius she thought she knew would have been laughing at her and kicked dirt in her face. Could she have been that off the mark with him? "What's left? Seeker right?" she asked.

"No, I'm not going to put you through this torture anymore. Let's head back to the castle," he said, and extended a hand to help her up.

She hated that falling off her broom suddenly rendered her useless. She shouldn't have made such a big deal about not getting hurt. She was determined to make him finish his experiment with her.

"I said I am fine. Come on, let's see how bad I am at the last position. Only don't release any Bludgers. Definitely not ready for that yet."

Sirius was having second thoughts. "Not sure about this anymore, Annabelle."

"Isn't Seeker essentially just catching a Snitch? If you are the other Seeker, just don't knock me off my broom and we should be good."

"Essentially, sure," he chuckled. "But there's a bit more to it than that. Alright. If you insist. When you want to quit, just tell me. I will understand."

Up into the air they went and Sirius said, "Okay, first one to catch it wins, as you know. Just don't make it too obvious if you see it."

She nodded and they were off. Being a novice though, she didn't hide it very well when she saw it. She was an inch away from catching it when Sirius's hand grabbed it away from hers.

"So much for being a Seeker," she said.

"Wait just a minute, you almost had it. In fact, you would have had if you hadn't made it so obvious that you saw it."

"How do I make it less obvious?" she asked earnestly.

"Don't stay in one place, first of all. If you are holding still then I suddenly see you moving, I am going to think you saw it. Or to complicate things, you could use that as a trick, but in that case you wouldn't have actually seen it, you would just want me to think you had."

Annabelle turned this over in her mind. Sirius added, "Being Seeker is just as much about psyching the other Seeker out as it is about catching the Snitch. Shall we try again?"

"Okay," Annabelle replied. This time she watched him as he flew around here and there, even starting to fly fast toward something. She figured he was tricking her just to show her how it's done, so she didn't bother trying to catch it. Turns out she was right. Then she saw it, it flew right above her and she tried to remain calm, flying around in an attempt to cut it off in its path. It worked. As it flew toward her, she bolted toward it, and sensing her approach it made a sharp turn. She reached out and just missed it. At this point Sirius was alerted to it, and made a beeline for it, but Annabelle was closer and she grabbed it just before he did.

"Blimey! You did it!" he exclaimed. "You caught the bloody Snitch! And fast too!"

"Beginner's luck. Don't get too excited," she told him. "Plus there were no Bludgers or twelve other players flying around."

"Shall we have another go at it?" he asked hopefully. Annabelle would have loved to call it quits for the day, but she couldn't bear to spoil his fun. Whoever would have guessed that she would be on the Quidditch pitch with Sirius Black, when a couple weeks ago she couldn't stand the sight of him. What an odd world, she mused.

Once again, Annabelle caught the Snitch, and again, and again. Sirius was beside himself in disbelief. Annabelle honestly believed it was just luck.

"No way is it luck. James isn't going to believe this," he said excitedly.

"Wait, you aren't going to tell James, are you? I mean, this was just for fun."

"I know, Annabelle, but I just want him to know that girls can play Quidditch too."

Annabelle said, "But Sirius, catching a Snitch doesn't mean I can play. There was no game going on, just the two of us chasing it. Not exactly the same as playing in a match against another team."

"Yes, Annabelle, but I can see that you probably have talent. I am not saying for you to try out for the team, although it'd be nice since we need a Seeker. But I know you are not interested. Come on, you can't expect me to keep it a secret that you, a total beginner, caught the Snitch that many times."

"Oh, fine. Tell him what you want. But as of today, my Quidditch career is coming to a close. I thank you for teaching me about the game. At least now I will not be so clueless when watching a match."

Sirius still couldn't believe how easy catching the Snitch was for her. She had a point, it wasn't in a real game, but still. He couldn't help but think if it had been a game, how with some more training, she might actually pull it off. And they so badly needed a decent Seeker. He wished that she had fallen in love with the game as he had, but she hadn't. And after falling off her broom, and her total reluctance, he decided not to push it. Instead, they headed back to the castle.


	11. A Class Act

They walked back to the Potions lab, and thankfully didn't run into any faculty members on the way. They Scourgified some more of the floor, and then sat bored, trying to think of something that wouldn't get them in more trouble.

"Now what shall we do?"

"Homework?" suggested Annabelle.

Sirius grimaced, but agreed. "Might as well. Let's get our books and bring them back here just in case."

Sirius helped Annabelle with the Potions homework, and then, because Sirius revealed he couldn't get into the literature book they were reading, Annabelle suggested they take turns reading it out loud. That way, they could stay interested, and get through it. Annabelle actually liked _Sons and Lovers_, by D.H. Lawrence, but she could see how it might be hard for him, since it required thinking about something other than Quidditch.

Sirius, for the first time actually, was enjoying reading an assigned novel. Annabelle had a way of reading it that pulled him into the story. He wanted her to continue, but it was his turn. And they went back and forth until he was all caught up.

"You know, at the time this book was written, it was considered really sexy in a dirty kind of way. Kind of hard to believe, isn't it?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes, it is hard to believe. Crazy how things change. I hope you won't mind if we do this again. I think it's the only way I can get through it," he said. "You don't know how many times I tried to pick it up and get into it on my own and just fell asleep or my mind kept wandering. Reading it like this makes it interesting."

Annabelle thought it odd that he would voluntarily want to spend time with her. Was this the same one that had been laughing at her with his mates just last year? The one that only hung out with an exclusive few? He was smart and driven enough that he could get through the book without her, but it did make it more fun to read together. And funny enough, she didn't mind now. He was growing on her.

They Scourgified the rest of the floor just in time for the students returning from Hogsmeade. They were emptying their buckets when Hagrid came in to check on them.

"All done already? Yer quick! Ye look well tuckered out. Better head off to dinner. I'll tell McGonagall yer done and will be up to see her later for yer wands."

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Annabelle guiltily, although Hagrid just took her downcast expression as exhaustion. Sirius nudged her arm and shook his head as if to say, don't feel bad. When Hagrid was gone, he said to her, "Annabelle, come on, now. Did you hurt someone today?"

"No," Annabelle replied, still frowning.

"Did you steal something from someone?"

"No."

"Did you destroy property?"

"No."

"Did you get to go to Hogsmeade?"

"No."

"Did the Potions Lab floor get cleaned?"

"Yes, but…"

"But, nothing. The task is done, no one is any worse off for what we did today, and we still learned our lesson about talking in class. Isn't that what's important?"

"I guess you are right," she said, then looked up and grinned. "And I got a free Quidditch lesson out of it."

Sirius laughed and once again, Annabelle was struck by his smile. To avoid staring and giving the wrong impression, she packed up her books. The two walked out into the empty corridor that led to the Great Hall.

"I so hope Lily and James patched things up," she said.

"Me too. He is my best mate, but he can be a total knobhead sometimes. I'm sorry for how he behaved toward the two of you yesterday," he said in a way that made Annabelle think acting was another talent he possessed, because he sounded completely genuine.

"Thanks, but I don't care how he treats me," she replied, never wanting her vulnerability to show. "Lily was the hurt one. But we'll see."

He stopped walking. "Annabelle, I'm sorry for how I've behaved as well. Obviously you are nothing like I thought you were, and even if you had been, it's still no excuse."

Annabelle felt her cheeks flush. "It's okay, you've apologized already."

"No. I know I apologized for the dirty looks, but, maybe you don't even remember… last year when when you came out of Transfiguration and we were there waiting for detention… I just want you to know I wasn't trying to hurt you. James and Peter were, mainly because Peter put it in James's head that you were discouraging Lily from going out with him, but I was ashamed of how that whole thing played out. And I let them know."

Annabelle was stunned he would bring it up, and even more stunned that he was sorry about it. Was he setting her up for a joke? That _he_ even remembered it surprised her. She was flustered, and had a hard time finding the right words. After a moment of awkwardness she sputtered, "Thanks… I mean thank you for that. I do remember it, actually, and it means a lot to me that you cleared that up."

Sirius shook his head and said, "Believe me, Annabelle, I don't want you to think I'm this vicious toerag with no regard for people's feelings. In fact, I have never liked this strange animosity between us. It has always felt wrong. I hope you can believe me."

She wanted to believe him, and the usually proud Sirius Black was looking mighty forlorn at the moment. He had given her no reason since calling a truce in Potions to think he was just playing games with her. In fact, he didn't seem to be doing much in the way of picking on others at all anymore. Maybe Lily was right, and he had grown up a bit. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he was being kind enough to apologize for their run-in last year.

"I believe you. And I agree, the animosity was exaggerated and misguided. You are proving to be a much different person than I thought you were," she said.

Sirius grinned and said, "Shall I take that as a compliment?"

Annabelle replied with shy smile, "Yes, you should. But as for what Peter said, James has never needed my help in falling out of favour with Lily. He does that all on his own."

Again Sirius chuckled, and said, "I don't doubt that for a moment. You have to understand, Peter worships the ground James walks on. He tells him what he thinks he wants to hear, instead of the truth. Also," he continued, as they started walking toward the Great Hall, "you fall into the highly populated category of girls who find Peter repellent, with good reason I might add. Yet you don't pretend to like him just to keep him from bothering you. Peter doesn't like that; that you don't cower for him."

"Well that's too bad," said Annabelle. "He treats people like dirt and I am not going to give him the satisfaction of cowering for a _rat_ like him, or anyone for that matter."

Sirius's eyes widened at the rat comment, because that was Peter's secret Animagus. For a moment he wondered if she knew, but then he almost burst out laughing at the coincidence of it, because his Animagus was so fitting to the image he portrayed.

"What? What is so funny?" Annabelle asked with a smile.

"Nothing, it's just that you are not the first to call him a rat."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't say such things about your friend. It isn't polite," she began.

Sirius interrupted and said, "Stop right there. You don't have to apologize to me for Peter's sake. He has earned his dreadful reputation among the classier, more sophisticated girls, and I tend to agree with you. I mean, he's my mate and all, and we have a lot of fun together, but he really can be a total git. And if he doesn't care to remedy his approach, then he has to deal with the consequences."

Annabelle couldn't believe that Sirius Black had just put her in the category of "classier, more sophisticated girls." Either this one was a total charmer, or he was lacking a censor. Either way, she liked it.

"Wow," Annabelle replied, nodding her head. "Alright, I will continue to revile him then."

"I don't think he's left you with any other option," he replied.

They entered the Great Hall where all the students who had been to Hogsmeade were waiting for dinner to start. Many eyes turned toward them. It seemed like the whole school knew they had detention together, and they did look a mess (from playing Quidditch) but still, Annabelle couldn't get used to the attention that knowing Sirius Black, barely knowing him at that, brought with it.

Johnny B. came rushing over and grabbed them both by the hands, dragging them to the table. There seemed to be a new seating arrangement in effect, as James, Remus, a few other sixth year boys, and a reluctant Peter were sitting with the girls for the first time ever. Annabelle knew this usually happened at some point, but she didn't expect it to happen that day. Sirius looked just as surprised, but in a good way.

"We figured it was time for a change," Johnny B. said with a sly wink of the eye, as he sat down at the other side of the table between Alice and Remus. "All this boy-girl segregation was maddening!"

"It's about time," Sirius said, as Lily moved over, closer to James, so Annabelle and Sirius could join them.


	12. Seeker Wanted

"So, how was Hogsmeade?" Annabelle asked.

"It was Hogsmeade," replied Alice. "Mostly the same old stuff."

"Not exactly," said Johnny B. as James and Peter grinned knowingly. "There's a new place to check out, after hours, if you know what I mean."

Sirius looked at Annabelle to see her reaction. He felt like all he appeared to do was break rules around her. He wasn't sure why he cared, but he didn't want her to think that was all he ever did.

"Tell us about it later," Sirius muttered to him as Annabelle turned to Lily.

"So, you and James are alright then?" she said quietly, stealing a glance at Alice who nodded.

Lily smiled weakly, and said, "Yes, he apologized, and I agreed to give him another chance, but it still stings for some reason. Do you think I am being daft about all of this?" she asked.

"No, I think if he was sincere, and he was really sorry, then I believe in giving people chances. Was he sincere?"

"Yes, I believe so," whispered Lily sadly. "I am just really on my guard my now, you know?"

Annabelle frowned, too. "That is understandable. Time will tell if he's worth the effort. But you aren't daft. Really, you aren't," she assured her friend.

Sirius suddenly sat up straight to make sure everyone could see and hear him, cleared his throat, and said, "Hey James, guess who caught a Snitch today?" as he motioned his head toward Annabelle.

Johnny B. replied, "What? Annabelle? You were playing Quidditch? That is awesome! We're still looking for players, you know…."

An embarrassed Annabelle quietly said to Sirius, "Really, you had to tell everyone?"

Sirius said in a low voice, "I was telling James. It's not my fault they are all listening. Nosy plonkers."

Annabelle smiled in spite of herself. "No Johnny, I wasn't playing Quidditch. We had some extra time on our hands, so Sirius here decided it was a good time to educate me about the game. That's all. He thought I might help him practice but quickly learned how useless I am at the sport."

"Except for catching the Snitch. She caught it four out of five times. I only caught it once," he said proudly.

"Hold on," said James, "You were both trying to catch it? And she beat you 4 out of 5 times?"

"Yep," confirmed Sirius. "She did."

"It wasn't a big deal. There was no one else playing, there were no Bludgers, nothing. Just the two of us trying to catch a Snitch," Annabelle said, more embarrassed.

Remus said, "But it is a big deal. It's hard to catch the Snitch, especially when competing with a strong player for it."

Sirius smiled and said to Annabelle, "See? I told you."

"Sirius, really," Annabelle began, but Sirius cut her off.

"I know, I know, you don't want to play. I get it."

James said, "Come on, it doesn't matter that she caught it. Unless it happens during the pressure of a full on game, it doesn't count for anything." James was not going to give her an ounce of credit.

"Yes, it does count, mate," Sirius countered. "How many of the blokes at try-outs caught the Snitch? Huh? One? And how bloody long did it take? Ages, that's how long, and he's our only hope. It took her fifteen minutes, twenty at the most. Now I am not saying she should try out for the team, because she doesn't want to, but…."

"But what then? She doesn't want to try out then why does it matter that she caught the Snitch?" James argued.

"As I was saying, it just goes to show you that girls do have Quidditch skills. And I bet with training and work she would be an awesome Seeker. Not that I am advocating she do that, because she doesn't enjoy it. But if she did, she would be awesome."

James was about to argue again but Lily touched his arm and whispered, "Come on James, just give her some credit and let it go."

Annabelle exclaimed, "Thank you Sirius, for the vote of confidence. But really, my Quidditch days are over. End of story."

Johnny B., Remus, Alice, and Peter kept exchanging smirks over how the conversation was going.

"And I agree. She may have some talent. But if she is unwilling to pursue it, let's move on," said James.

Annabelle knew Sirius was going to have a hard time letting this one go. "Please, let's drop it. He sees your point… I think."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "I wasn't saying you should try out, just that it's possible that there are girls at Hogwarts who might be able to play. But I'll let it go, for now."

Annabelle knew that he was just trying to make a point to James, whom for whatever reason kept missing it. It was frustrating dealing with such belligerence and narrow-mindedness. Annabelle almost wanted to march out to the pitch right then to vindicate her new, dare she say, friend? And of course herself and her entire gender. Almost wanted to, but not quite.

"Glad the two of you are getting along," Johnny B. said with a sly grin, just before Alice gave him a kick under the table. "Ouch, Alice, what was that for?" he whined, but the grin returned.

Alice just shook her head.

When he said that, Annabelle felt her cheeks burn, and she glanced at Sirius, who was also turning to look at her. Their eyes met for longer than she had anticipated, then they both smiled and looked away. Geez he was handsome.

After dinner, the boys went their separate ways, heading off to the pitch to practice some more. James asked if Annabelle wanted to join them, obviously thinking he was hilarious, but Sirius didn't laugh, instead saying, "Come on, James, don't start again."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The girls went up to their dorm room where they chatted about the day.

"So, what did you all do in Hogsmeade?" Annabelle asked, eager to hear what she missed.

"I can't speak for Lily, but I wandered around with Dominica and Septima most of the time. Frank couldn't make it today. Dominica was a grump then took off with Ivan Prang. It was actually really dull," said Alice flatly.

"What is up with Dominica lately?" asked Lily.

"I've noticed it too. She was really nasty the other day about the Sirius and Annabelle lab partner thing. Think she has her eye on him?" asked Alice.

"That wouldn't be a shock. But I didn't have much fun either. Heart-to-hearts with James Potter are like pulling teeth. Gosh he is so emotionally immature," sighed Lily.

"He still has a hard time talking about his feelings, huh?" asked Annabelle.

"It appears so. Not as bad though, but I did get him to admit that there was nothing embarrassing about your girlfriend calling you 'sweetie.' Then he gave me the same old speech about not wanting to lose me. He just seems like he's afraid to grow up."

"Aren't they all?" asked Alice.

"Probably. I don't know," replied Lily sadly.

"Well, you didn't miss much Annabelle. That's for sure," said Alice. "Would much rather have been watching you and Sirius Black play Quidditch," she said with a wink.

Annabelle smiled and rolled her eyes. "You would have been bored there, too."

"Not from the way Sirius makes it sound," Lily chimed in. "You two were awfully cute together at dinner tonight. What _did_ you do all day, huh?"

"Here we go," Annabelle sighed, but smiling just the same at her friends' predictability. "We cleaned the floors and when we had time, he wanted me to practice with him. But my lack of skills meant I was a bad practice partner. He is so bloody obsessed with that game that he still wanted to play it with me, despite the fact that I was crap at it. So I caught the Snitch. I mean, it must have been beginner's luck. Had to be."

"I don't know Annie," said Lily skeptically. "He sounded pretty sure about you. Maybe you should try out for the team."

"_No way_. Do you know how fast those Bludgers move? In a real game they'd be coming right at me. Again, no way," said Annabelle fixedly. "ANYWAY, then we did homework. The end."

"You mean you didn't elope?" asked Lily, a huge grin on her face.

"Haha, very funny," sneered Annabelle. "Why is it that the second we don't loathe each other, people think we are in love? Are you all in love with everyone you don't despise? Can there be no middle ground?"

"You're right, but he's _gorgeous_ Annabelle. And you two looked so cute together!" Lily cooed with delight.

"Lily, this is the same bloke that a few weeks ago we thought was a pompous git."

"But I can tell he's given you reason not to think that anymore," goaded Lily.

"Bloody hell, we barely know each other. The majority of our conversation today consisted of Quidditch and homework. Not exactly the stuff of epic love stories. I don't even know if we qualify as friends even, so let's avoid the love thing, okay?"

"But Annabelle, what if he is into you? I mean what if he asks you out?" Lily continued.

Now Annabelle was becoming visibly upset. "Please, Lily. He's Sirius Black. Just because he no longer shuns my mere existence doesn't mean a thing. He's going to end up with some gorgeous pure blood princess. Let's keep things in perspective."

"He only dated one pure blood princess, and he dumped her," said Alice flatly.

"Well, that doesn't mean he won't in the future. Anyway, now he dates Quidditch. Just don't hold your breath ladies. Like I said, I barely know him, and I am not going down that road. It will be a miracle if we get through this year without another dirty look," said Annabelle firmly.

"You are gorgeous too, Annie-belle. You are just too modest to admit it," said Lily.

"Please, for the love of Gryffindor, stop it," Annabelle begged. "It's not going to happen."

"We'll see," quipped Lily.

Annabelle sighed, putting a pillow over her face and falling back on the bed in exasperation.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, out on the pitch, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter sat in the stands for a few minutes waiting to see if the storm clouds over head were going to pass. Sirius and James had played in the rain many times, but preferred not to if they could help it.

"So, how have tryouts been going?" asked Peter, who was not on the team, essentially because he was a crappy Quidditch player.

"Dismal," droned James. "Utterly dismal. We still have three spots to fill."

"Well, you could always try to convince Annabelle," said Remus, who wasn't on the team because of his condition. Full moons made it hard to play, and a werewolf on a broomstick at a Quidditch match wouldn't go over too well with the crowd.

James rolled his eyes, clearly irritated. "She said no way."

"I wish we could convince her, but she is so inexperienced, and it made her really nervous. We could obviously train her, but she just doesn't think it's fun," Sirius bemoaned.

"Maybe we could make it fun for her," said Remus. "Maybe we could tell her you needed her for practice again, or a friendly game or whatever. And then we make it fun."

"It's a good idea, but it's getting her on the pitch that's the problem. And with James' attitude here…" Sirius trailed off.

"Look, I said already that I don't have problems with girls playing. Am I ever going to be let off the hook?" questioned James.

"Yes, mate, you're off the hook. But I don't think you are off the hook with her, and no matter how you feel about it, that is the problem," said Sirius.

"Maybe James doesn't play then. If the goal is to make her comfortable, and to make the game fun for her, then James shouldn't play. But maybe we could convince Alice and Lily or some of the other girls to play. And Johnny B. You know, people she's comfortable with," suggested Remus.

"Um, you can count me out too. I actually don't think girls should play. So there," said Peter bluntly.

The boys couldn't help but laugh at Peter's candor.

"Great attitude, mate. No wonder you're single," said Sirius.

"You're single, too," muttered Peter.

"Yeah, but he's single by choice. There's a difference," laughed James.

"Right, because no one is good enough for him, right Sirius?" Peter quipped bitterly.

"Feck off, mate," snapped Sirius, trying very hard to hold his tongue from making a biting remark back. He knew Peter had some jealousy issues to work out.

"Alright, alright, let's not do this. The point is, the team needs a Seeker, and Annabelle right now, according to Sirius anyway, is the only one qualified. But she finds the game boring and scary. We make it fun, then maybe we can convince her to take the job," said James. "And we need to do this soon. Maybe tomorrow afternoon?"

"I'll start working on Alice tonight, just to see if she'd be up for a friendly game," said Remus.

"I'll work on Lily. I'll tell her I'm not playing because I have a Captains' meeting or something. Sirius, you might want to wait to bring it up with Annabelle again until we know the girls are on board. Johnny B. won't be a problem, so that's that," said James. "Let's hope it works, or else we will have a joke of a Seeker for the first game." Just then the sky opened up in a torrential downpour, and the boys made a run for it back to the castle.


	13. An Unexpected Target

Later that evening, as everyone was getting ready for bed, Annabelle decided to sneak out to the hidden tower she discovered her first year. It was near the grand staircase, up one level, but hidden behind a large pillar that looked to be part of the wall. The entrance was merely a crack in the wall just big enough for one person of medium build to squeeze through. There was a statue directly in front of it. She couldn't believe no one had discovered it, but after taking enough charms classes, by her third year she knew how to make it appear non-existent to others. She rarely went there anymore, except during breaks when her friends had gone home. But tonight she wasn't tired, and decided to pay a visit to her hiding spot, mainly to look for an old book she thought she'd left there.

Telling the girls as they were brushing their teeth before lights out that she thought she forgot something in the Great Hall, she disappeared before one of them could decide to tag along, her Grandfather's invisibility cloak wrapped in a sweater and tucked under her arm. Once she was down in the staircase, she checked to make sure no one was lurking, and wrapped herself in one of her favorite material items she inherited from him. It was in excellent condition, since he rarely used it, preferring instead to use a disillusionment charm on himself. It was an advanced spell that Annabelle thought she could pull off, but didn't want to take any chances with it yet, lest it go wrong. The cloak had allowed her hide in the beginning, to escape to her secret tower, her haven in the first couple years when the grief of his loss was so fresh and would come rushing over her at times so unexpectedly that she had to find a place to give in to the swirling pain inside of her. A place to just cry, and remember.

The corridor heading toward the Great Staircase was dark except for the light of a few torches. She thought she heard a commotion coming from the ground floor, but figured maybe it was some house elves cleaning up. As she drew closer though, she saw that it was not house-elves. From her vantage point, she could see the tops of three heads, one being that of Malachi Malfoy, whose older cousin was apparently married to one of Sirius's cousins. Another head was that of a seventh year Slytherin whose name she couldn't remember. She inched her way closer to the landing, careful not to make a sound. One flick of a well-aimed wand on their end and she could be in trouble. Then she saw Severus Snape, standing back from the others, but obviously with them. They had their wands aimed at someone she couldn't quite see yet. She sidestepped a little closer to the top of the stairs and had to clap her hands over her mouth to avoid gasping. It was Sirius, and his wand was on the floor next to him.

Annabelle panicked. She didn't know what to do; should she run for help? No, it was too late, because she could see that he already had blood dripping from a wound inflicted on his lower lip. They were going to hurt him, or worse. She had to cast a spell that would render them unable to strike back, and something that would keep them from chasing either one of them, as well.

Malachi paced around in front of him while the other two stood guard. "What I don't understand is how you can, in good conscience, continue mingling with Mudbloods, polluting your family's noble reputation, and drifting so far off the path that was laid out for you. You know, my dad tells me your mum cries every night, and she begged me to help you see the error of your ways." Now he was dangerously close to Sirius's face. "How can you be so _selfish_?" he spat angrily.

Sirius didn't flinch. He remained aloof, not giving any inkling of what was going on in his head. "Answer me!" Malachi commanded.

"_Fuck. Off_." replied Sirius calmly, with a straight face.

"Severus, what do think of this response?" Malachi asked.

"Unacceptable," replied Severus, enunciating every syllable. She could see Severus was shaking, and she couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger. Probably both. His new buddies were insane.

"Mulciber," drawled Malachi. "Punish him."

Annabelle didn't want to use her wand because of the red light it would make. If they found her out, it could be lethal. Wandless spells were extremely difficult, but they had been working on them in DADA. She couldn't remember if there would still be a light without the wand, but she decided to chance it. She got down low to the ground and gave the Stupefy Charm all she had inside her, saying it in a sharp whisper, using only her hand. The first one to be hit was Mulciber, then in rapid succession she stupefied the other two fueled only by adrenalin as Sirius immediately grabbed his wand. And then she ran as fast her legs could take her back to Gryfinndor Tower, her cloak almost slipping off in the process.

Meanwhile, Sirius wasn't going to wait around to see who was casting the spells. He was tough, but he knew Malachi was out for blood and didn't care if he got expelled for mauling another student. He did cast a few spells on his attackers though, since they were already stupefied, first the Expelliarmus charms on their wands, the Vanishing charm to make the wands disappear, permanently, and finally, the Furnunculus curse, a temporary spell which caused them all to be covered in boils, just for his own pleasure. Then he took off the long way around to the Tower to avoid running into anyone, or to avoid them following him if the spells wore off.

Annabelle was shaking like a leaf when she got back to the tower. No one was in the Common Room, and the relief that she was back, in one piece, caused tears to form in her eyes. But she couldn't relax until she knew Sirius had made it back. She shoved the invisibility cloak under a couch cushion, sat down with a book that she could pretend to read, and waited. She suddenly felt terrible over how she'd written Sirius off as the bully for years. He had said in class that she didn't know the whole story, and it turns out she hadn't. He had his own bullies to deal with it turned out. Besides Severus and his gang of dark wizards in the making, apparently his own family was bullying him.

It was a long ten minutes, so long that she had just decided to go get the others to help her find him. But she heard footsteps approaching, and there he was, quietly shutting the door. When he turned, he jumped, startled to see her there.

"Oh, hi Annabelle, what are you doing up?" he asked, trying to hide his nerves.

"Oh, nothing, just didn't feel sleepy, so I decided to read," she said. "Was just getting up to go to bed, after I finish this chapter of course. Did you hurt your lip?"

"At Quidditch practice, earlier. Right. Well, I'm knackered. Good night, Annabelle. See you at breakfast," he said, and up the stairs he bounded to the boys' dormitory.

Annabelle closed the book and buried her head in her hands. What a relief. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to keep it a secret that she had been the one to Stupefy them, but something told her not to bring it up, to anyone. Sirius had never mentioned problems with these particular boys before. She knew he didn't like them, but he didn't really like any Slytherins. This was personal to him, she thought, or maybe he would tell his friends, who would seek revenge. She wasn't sure what was going on, but had a strong feeling that Sirius didn't want her privy to it. She decided to keep it a secret, for now, despite her urge to go tell Dumbledore, at least until she could figure out a way to mention the incident to Sirius first.

That night, nightmares plagued her sleep.


	14. To Catch a Snitch

The next day, Sirius's lip was fine, most likely because of a healing spell. Annabelle couldn't tell if the boys were preoccupied or if she was just imagining it because she knew what had happened. She still didn't know why Sirius had been in the halls last night.

"Hey," she whispered to him, "Why were you out and about last night?"

"Oh, um, I thought I left a paper I needed for Quidditch tryouts in the Great Hall. Turns out it was under my bed," he said, not looking at her.

"Oh," was all she said, wishing he felt comfortable talking to her about it.

Alice, who was seated directly across from them at the table, had given no indication that she'd been listening, suddenly turned and said, "What is it with you two leaving things everywhere? Annabelle thought she'd left something in the Great Hall, too, last night. I'm surprised you didn't run into each other."

Annabelle tried not to cringe, and said casually, "I was reading in the Common Room when he came in."

"You didn't mention you had been looking for something there as well," he said.

"Oh, I had been there earlier. Wasn't even thinking about it," she replied, not making eye contact. She sensed that he was scrutinizing her, and she was desperate to change the subject.

"So, what's everyone up to today?" asked Annabelle "Oh, let me guess, you lads are off to play Quidditch. What shall we do today, ladies?"

There was suddenly an awkwardness in the air. No one answered her right away.

"Did I miss something?" asked Annabelle, barely hiding her frustration.

"We thought we might play Quidditch, too!" chirped Lily. "The boys said they'd teach us."

"Peter and I won't be joining you," James chimed in. "Both have meetings to get to."

Annabelle was perplexed. Lily and Alice had never expressed an interest in Quidditch, and now that Annabelle had tried it and decided she didn't like it, they suddenly wanted to play? What gives? She was at a loss for words.

"You'll come with us, right?" asked Alice.

"Didn't I just get through telling you how I don't want to play Quidditch? Why can't I get Quidditch out of my life?" Annabelle exclaimed.

"You don't have to play. I told them you wouldn't want to," said Sirius.

Remus added, "They just wanted to see what it was like. You know, in a safe environment, with people they trust."

Lily and Alice nodded.

"Who all else is going to be there?" probed Annabelle.

"Just Sirius, Johnny B., Lily, Alice, and myself," explained Remus.

"We could do three on three if you play," said Sirius. "One Keeper, one Chaser, and one Seeker per team. No need for Beaters because we won't be bothering with Bludgers today. Otherwise, we're just going to show Alice and Lily how to play and not really have a match."

"That is going to be one sorry game. I heard some Hufflepuffs were going to be practicing today. What if they are already there?" asked Annabelle.

"We already sorted out practice times with the other teams at the last Quidditch meeting," replied James. "It's our time on the field. We don't have to use it, but it's ours if we want it."

"Why isn't the rest of the team going to be there during your practice time?" asked Annabelle.

"Because it was a last minute thing, and James can't be there. Besides, we've been practicing like crazy, so James told them to rest," explained Sirius.

"Come on Annabelle. It's going to be hilarious!" prodded Lily.

"Fine. I'll play this one last time," said Annabelle. "Then that's it!"

The teams were decided by pulling a paper out of Sirius's hand. Lily, Annabelle, and Johnny B. were on one team, and Sirius, Remus, and Alice on the other. Alice was nervous to be separated from her friends but Remus quietly reminded her the reason for this match, to get Annabelle out on the pitch.

They decided their positions, Annabelle would be Seeker, Lily, Chaser, and Johnny B., Keeper. Remus would be Seeker for his team, Alice, Chaser, and Sirius, Keeper.

Annabelle was not into it, especially because without Bludgers and Beaters, there really couldn't be a game. It was just Alice and Lily flying around giggling and trying to get the Quaffle from each other. Annabelle couldn't help but laugh when she saw Lily trying to score against Sirius. She continually fell short of the hoops, and Sirius barely had to move, let alone block her shots. He looked slightly annoyed, but was trying so hard to be nice about it. Finally she threw one with some power behind it, but Sirius smacked it away in a flash.

After about a half hour, Remus caught the Snitch. Annabelle hadn't even been paying attention to it. Now that it was caught though, she figured this torture could end, but Sirius called to her, "At least _try_, Annabelle!"

"Fine!" she called back. She really didn't want to, but she didn't want to be a big baby either. And she could tell Sirius needed to take his mind off what had happened the night before. For whatever reason, her catching the bloody Snitch might be the thing to cheer him up a bit.

Within twenty minutes, she had caught the Snitch, although Remus made her earn it. The next match, she caught it in fifteen. But the final match proved to be the hardest. She couldn't find it anywhere. She and Remus just kept circling the pitch trying to trick each other, but the Snitch was nowhere to be found. Lily and Alice were bored and had found a seat in the stands. Johnny B. and Sirius were too interested to see how this would end.

"Maybe we could just go back now?" asked Alice. "This could take all day."

Next thing, after about an hour, Annabelle saw it. So did Remus. And they were off, chasing, weaving, lunging, and to her surprise, laughing. They were both laughing. Then it was gone again, but as soon as they thought it had eluded them, it was back. Annabelle had seen it a split second before Remus, and lunged for it. She had caught it yet again.

Sirius and Johnny B. started hooting and clapping, flying over to the exhausted pair. Remus was a good sport about it. "Good job, Annabelle. I guess Sirius wasn't exaggerating when he said you could play Seeker."

"Well, it helps when you are just playing with friends," she replied. "But thank you. You aren't so bad yourself."

As they were waiting for the girls to come down from the bleachers, Sirius kept looking at Annabelle like he wanted to say something.

"What?" she asked him. "Out with it already."

"It's just that we don't have a Seeker yet. Our first game is Saturday. You are the only one with any talent for the position, at least that we know about at this point, and you are refusing to play. It's frustrating," he explained.

"I agree," said James, who appeared from under an invisibility cloak.

Annabelle shrieked. Sirius chuckled. He had known he was there.

"So you weren't at a meeting?" asked Annabelle.

"Nope. Been here the whole time. But Sirius said you wouldn't play if I was out there."

Annabelle sighed. Sirius was right.

"So this was a set-up?" she asked.

"Not exactly," said James. "We all thought if you actually had fun playing, you might change your mind about trying out for the team. Trying out would just be a formality though. Obviously you can be on the team. And before you say it again, we both know you don't want to. The fact is, we need you," said James earnestly.

"No," said Annabelle, shaking her head. "No way." Lily and Alice we waiting for them at the edge of the pitch now, so she started walking off to join them.

The boys ran to catch up with her.

Sirius fell in step beside her, and said, "Listen Annabelle, just this once then. Just this first game. Maybe we can find someone else before the next game."

Annabelle didn't answer but she felt enormous pressure upon her. She didn't like it.

"Would you stop please, Annabelle? Just listen," James appealed. She stopped, but didn't look at him as he spoke. "Slytherin will beat us if we have to use Arnold Watson in the game. It won't even be a fair match. I know you don't care that much about the game, but do you want Slytherin to beat Griffydor in the first game of the season?"

"She doesn't care about that stuff," said Sirius hopelessly. But she did. After what she had witnessed those Slytherin beasts doing in the hall that night, she did care. She knew that Slytherin winning would be salt in the wounds for Sirius. And her guilt over how she had judged him, when he had shown that he was nothing like what she thought he was, began to nag at her. He was actually just a Quidditch obsessed boy with a sense of mischief who just stuck to the people he knew and trusted. She had seen no sign of the prideful, sneering, smug boy she thought he was. Not that he hadn't done some mean things, but it appeared he was also the victim too. And nobody is perfect. She hated to say yes, because she was completely terrified, but saying no meant giving Slytherin something else to throw in his face.

"If I play Seeker, it doesn't automatically guarantee Gryffindor will win," Annabelle said, finally looking at them. "There is a huge chance I will not catch the Snitch before their Seeker does."

"We know, Annabelle," said Sirius. "I hate to admit it, but they are a good team. They will make us work for it, you can be sure. But at least we will stand a chance, and we can also avoid the embarrassment of starting the season with a second-year talentless Seeker."

"No, you will have to face another kind of ridicule. Having a girl on the team, a girl with no experience I might add," she said bitterly.

"Annabelle, don't get upset. You know what, forget it. It isn't worth stressing you out. We can always just use Arnold," said Sirius, looking at James. "Right?"

"Or we could have that clumsy tosser of a third year, Rory Finnegan play. He's much better at Chaser, but at least he has some skill, even though the kid can barely stay on his broom."

"I can barely stay on a broom either if there are Bludgers involved," said Annabelle.

Johnny B. had been a silent observer of the conversation thus far. Now he spoke. "We would protect you, Annabelle," he said softly. "Even more than usual because we know you are inexperienced and scared." The boys all nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, Annabelle," agreed Sirius. "We will have someone on you at all times."

"Won't that put the other team members at risk?" asked Annabelle.

"Maybe a little bit," said James, his cocky laugh returning, "but they are all used to being hit with Bludgers."

"I'll have to practice with Bludgers, too," said Annabelle, her voice shaking with fear. "In the end, how am I any different than the other two chaps you're talking about? All three of us seem to fall short of the mark."

"Because you can actually _catch_ the _Snitch_," James said fixedly.

"I don't know if this is a good idea," Sirius said to the others. "I don't want to make someone do something they don't want to do." Then turning to Annabelle, he said, "I am sorry, Annabelle. You said you didn't want to play, that you wanted nothing to do with the game, and still I persisted in hounding you about it. Now I feel like a tosser," he said. "Come on, it's getting cold out."

She stood still while the others started walking ahead. Lily and Alice approached her on either side.

"Let's go, Annabelle," said Lily. "Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for saying no. It's a lot of pressure."

The boys stopped and looked back to see what was the hold up. Annabelle hesitated. She blinked her eyes tightly, and the image of Sirius being bullied by the Slytherins flashed before her. Then the word Mudblood blasted in her mind. Wow, these boys knew how to get their way. She blurted out, "Okay, I'll do it."

James and Johnny B.'s faces lit up in smiles, but Sirius looked concerned.

"No, Annabelle," he said. James and Johnny B. looked at him like he was nuts. "I don't want our badgering you to do this to be the reason you are nervous all week, the reason you are doing something you don't want to do. I mean, we just sorted out our issues. I really don't want to give you a new reason to find me deplorable."

"I want to play. I really want to. I don't want Slytherin to win. And if they win, I want it to be fair and square."

"You don't enjoy the game," said Sirius gently. "And that's fine, Annabelle. I was ridiculous to subject you to it."

"But I did enjoy it, today anyway. After a while, it was fun. I know it won't be as fun on Saturday, but aren't most people scared when trying something new? Doesn't mean I should let it stop me. I'm a Gryffindor, too, aren't I?" she demanded.

Sirius grinned. "Yes, yes you are. But just so we are clear, you aren't doing this because we pressured you, right?"

"Right. I am doing this of my own free will," she confirmed. "It doesn't mean I'm not terrified, and it doesn't mean this isn't going to backfire in your faces when I lose the game for us. I just don't want you all to be angry at me if we lose."

"We won't be angry. We will be thankful to you for making it so we have a fair shot. And we will keep looking for a replacement in the meantime," responded James.

"Okay, good," she said. And walked off toward the castle, Lily and Alice grinning with excitement on either side of her.

"I hope we don't regret this," James said to Sirius.

"Me too," replied Sirius.

All through dinner, they talked about Quidditch, specifically how the Slytherin team operates, in an attempt to have her as prepared as possible. All she could pay attention to though was the pain in Sirius's eyes. She wished she knew the whole story, but she wasn't in any position to ask. Her regret over being so critical of him all these years was eating away at her now that she saw the bigger picture; it was the reason she agreed to this Quidditch horror, and she wished she could take all the judgment, the condemnation, the snobbish looks back.

That night, Annabelle could not sleep a wink. The events of the day kept replaying in her head, as well as the events of the night before. Finally, just before dawn she fell asleep.


	15. Guilty Conscience

The next day, in Potions, Sirius still seemed distant, his brow slightly furrowed, his normally confident demeanor obscured by his thoughts.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him. "You seem a million miles away."

"I'm okay," he said unconvincingly. "Just thinking about Saturday."

"It's going to be fine," she lied, amazed at how the tables had turned and she was the one reassuring him about the game.

"I feel like I was being selfish, you know? Like all I was thinking about was Quidditch, and not listening to you. I really won't be upset if you say you don't want to play. I mean it."

"Sirius, I'm going to do it. You are not going to change my mind," she said flatly. She wished she could shed her guilt over everything, especially since she had already apologized, but it had been a halfhearted apology, meant only to stop the nastiness between them. Now, her shame was only getting worse, every time he expressed concern for her, and every time she remembered what had happened Saturday night.

He smiled weakly and nodded. "Of course not," he replied.

Her guilt was gnawing away at her. After a few minutes, she spoke again.

"Hey," she whispered. "I just want to tell you something." She waited for Professor Slughorn to turn toward the board. She had to get it off her chest.

"I just wanted to tell you…to make sure you know, I don't judge you for anything you ever said or did to Severus Snape. I feel so awful about how I treated you all these years…." She was struggling to find the right words. "I was critical of you, without understanding, without any knowledge of _your_ side of things…." She trailed off as Professor Slughorn shot her a look.

"Where is all this coming from, Annabelle?" Sirius asked.

"Nowhere... it's just been on my mind. I truly owe you an apology for being so self-righteous. I thought I had you figured out, but it turns out I was entirely wrong."

"Come on, Annabelle, you don't have to feel bad. I was just as judgmental with you. We have talked about this already."

"No. You were only reacting to me. I see it now. I was _so_ out of line. You thought I was a hag, and I don't blame you now."

Sirius stared at her, a frown on his lips. "Annabelle, I know for a fact that I often sneered at you first, and hastily formed my own opinions of you too. I acted like a wanker myself on occasion; I'm not innocent. And I was pretty wicked to Severus on quite a few occasions, so you were right to think me a bully. In fact, it was pretty much your disdain for me that made it not worth it anymore. I couldn't stand being thought of as a total wanker by people I didn't even know."

"That's just it, I mean, I don't know your whole story. I had no right to condemn you. I don't blame you if you never accept my apology, but just know that I truly am sorry. Okay?" she requested, urgently.

"Sure, Annabelle. Of course I accept, but you really don't have to keep apologizing…" he began, just as Professor Slughorn turned to see them talking again.

"Black and O'Neill, did you learn nothing from your floor scrubbing on Saturday? Enough chatter, or it will be detention again!"

"Sorry, sir," they both muttered glumly, as their friends yet again shot them looks that could kill.

Once they started their lab, Sirius said to Annabelle, "You just need to relax, Annabelle. I don't know what's gotten into you today, but we are friends now. So don't worry about all that nonsense."

When class ended, and they were gathering their things, Lily approached Annabelle and whispered excitedly in Annabelle's ear, "James was talking about sneaking out to some muggle pub one of these weekends. Can I tell him about your invisibility cloak?"

Annabelle glanced at Sirius to make sure he hadn't heard. He wasn't looking at them, and was just turning to talk to Caradoc about something, so she figured he hadn't. "Lily, do we have to talk about it now? You know I want to keep it a secret that I have one."

"But you never use it, Annie, and we would only tell the boys. They won't tell anyone, you know that," she implored.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes," Annabelle said. "Okay? Don't tell him yet."

Lily agreed reluctantly, but knew she could twist Annabelle's arm if she had to.

Later in the day, it was time for the last try-outs. Sirius said she wouldn't have to do anything, that she was already in, but he just wanted to make it official by introducing her to the team. Every one of them was agreeable; they knew it was a dire situation, everyone except Caradoc Dearborn, who was against the idea.

"So it's already decided? Because I think it's a naff idea. She don't even know the game. And she's scared, you can tell," he complained, his thick Manchester accent hard for Annabelle to decipher.

"She knows the game, because Sirius taught her the rules. And this week is our chance to teach her techniques, and get her some practice," said James authoritatively.

"And who else do we have?" reminded Johnny B. "No offense Arnold, as you've got loads of potential, but we can't exactly go out the pitch against Slytherin with a second-year Seeker when theirs is a strong, skilled seventh-year. We'd be a joke."

"Won't we be the joke anyway?" Caradoc asked. "All due respect, Annabelle, but doesn't anyone see that having someone on the team who has no experience or love for game as kind of pathetic? And even though I know girls play Quidditch, they don't here, for whatever reason. Don't you think that is going to be a problem?"

"Only if we treat it like it's a problem," Sirius hissed. "That's your real issue, isn't it? You don't want to be playing with a girl. You don't care about experience level, because Arnold now has less experience than Annabelle, and you'd rather him play. Come off it…"

James interrupted, "Alright, you two, it doesn't matter, does it? You're outnumbered, Dearborn." And that ended the discussion.

Practice was exhausting. Having reserve players for when one of the starters inevitably would get injured made it possible to play a real practice match, but the team wasn't thrilled that Arnold would be her back-up in a real game. Annabelle did alright, she assumed because she was up against Arnold, catching the Snitch in record times, but she was absolutely terrified of the Bludgers, screaming a few times in the beginning when they came close to her. Sirius seemed to find her screaming amusing, but Caradoc did not.

"Hold on tight, and just let it hit you, once and for all. See what it feels like!" Caradoc shouted. "Then maybe you won't be so afraid of it!"

Sirius objected, "No, no, not a good idea." And he looked at James to agree.

"You know, it isn't a bad idea. Someone can spot her in case she falls," said James.

"What if it knocks her out?" asked Sirius, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice. "Or worse?"

"Well, that's the risk you take when you're on a Quidditch team. She's on the team, she needs to be prepared," argued Caradoc.

Sirius glared at him, debating whether or not to call him a tosser to his face, when Annabelle said, "He's absolutely right. Let the thing at me. Just tell me the best way to deflect it."

James, Sirius, and Fairfax Hood, a seventh-year Beater flew over to explain. "Arm out, like this, hit it here or here," Fairfax explained, pointing at different parts of his arm. She practiced, dread washing over her.

"You are shaking, Annabelle," said Sirius. "James, is this really necessary?"

"I hate to say it, but it is. She needs to be prepared," James answered.

"It's fine, Sirius, really. Let's just get it over with," Annabelle said.

"I will be right beneath you," Sirius said to her.

"I bet you will," winked Fairfax, making Annabelle blush momentarily.

"Nice way to make a girl feel like one of the team, Hood," rebuked Sirius. "No wonder girls don't want to play."

"If they all knew they could have Sirius Black beneath 'em they would," called Fairfax, laughing as he flew away.

"Well-played, now can we please begin?" Sirius replied. Annabelle was intrigued by the boyish banter.

Johnny B. had the Bludger, but couldn't bring himself to release it.

"What if it hurts her?" he asked.

"Just let it go close to her at first, then gradually get further back; let her feel the difference when it picks up speed," suggested James.

"Okay," sighed Johnny B. "Sorry Annie!"

Annabelle braced herself. Again and again she deflected it. And it did hurt more and more the further away it was when it started. One hit was so hard that she hollered. She knew she would have a nasty bruise from it.

"Maybe that's enough," called Sirius.

"Just one more," replied James.

Annabelle looked down at Sirius to make sure he was still there, and he gave her an encouraging nod. Her knuckles were turning white she was holding the broom so tightly.

The Bludger came at her from quite a distance and with such force that she decided to duck it instead, but it came right back at her. It grazed her shoulder and knocked her off her broom, so that she was dangling from it in mid-air. Before she could even scream Sirius was there, arms around her, giving her a hoist back up onto her broom.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly.

"You're welcome," he replied, looking very startled indeed. Then he called to the others, "Enough now!"

"Are you sure, I mean shouldn't I practice more with this? At least dodging it anyway?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," he said. "I think you've done enough for today."

"Okay," she said quietly, sensing the ever confident Sirius Black was actually a ball of nerves over the whole thing.

At dinner that evening, Quidditch was again the topic of conversation. The girls, who had been watching from the stands were impressed with Annabelle's bravery. The boys were impressed with her willingness to do what had to be done. Sirius was mostly in another world, any conversation from him seemed disengaged. He was terribly preoccupied.

After dinner, Sirius and Annabelle worked on their Potions assignment together, as originally planned. When they were finished, they read another chapter in their assigned reading together, this time getting the others in on it. They were all being overly dramatic, and laughing until their stomachs hurt, Sirius included. Annabelle was happy to see him smiling. Finally, Norvel Tugwood, a Gryffindor prefect, came in and told them to clear out, that it was lights out.

"Meeting Lorelei in a few minutes, are ya?" asked Sirius cheekily. The rumors were that the two had quite a hot romance going on.

"Very funny, Black," retorted Norvel in his nasally voice. "Now go."

"Don't get her pregnant," sneered Peter, as they were heading to their dorms. James smacked him over the head, and Sirius said, "You always go too far."

Peter just shrugged and followed them up the stairs.


	16. Epiphany

Annabelle woke up bright and early the next morning to meet the Quidditch team for breakfast and practice. Again, she took some hits at practice, but was getting more used to the Bludger now. And the Snitch was still rather easy to catch, but this wouldn't be the case when up against the other team's Seeker on Saturday. They barely had time to clean up and it was off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, a class they shared with Slytherin. Annabelle saw Malachi with his cronies, staring and snickering at Sirius from across the room. Sirius gave no indication that he was aware of it, but James had noticed, and was alerting Remus to it. But then she saw Sirius scowl, looking at them out of the corner of his eye, and she knew he was aware of their silent taunts.

Annabelle was disgusted that these idiots were picking on a person just because he wasn't a bigot like the rest of them. She didn't understand everything about the situation, but apparently Malachi's family knew Sirius's and there was something suspicious going on there. In the last couple weeks she had developed a major soft spot for Sirius, especially since he had been nothing but kind to her since sorting out their misunderstandings. She was starting to see why he and James had lashed out at Severus and his mates so many times. Watching the smug, mocking faces they were pulling compelled her to strike back as well. She was getting angry at the injustice of it all.

Right when their nearly deaf professor walked in, Malachi said to James and Sirius, "You both been playing in the mud? You like dirt, don't you?" James made a move to get up, most likely to either curse him or punch him, but Remus pulled him down.

James mouthed to Malachi, "You're done." But Sirius sat there looking down at his desk, arms crossed over himself, eyes narrowed, like one more barb would incite his rage. He was trying to contain it.

Annabelle heard her words slicing through the air before she could stop herself. "Your folks must have_ loved_ dirt. How else would you have been conceived?"

Caradoc Dearborn cackled wildly, while James stared at her in disbelief, a huge smile on his face. Remus shook his head somberly, and Sirius just looked at her, stunned, but did not smile. Annabelle was still fuming.

"Bugger off to your mudhole, Mudblood," Malachi spat back.

A few Slytherins laughed, and even one Gryffindor; Dominica. Before anyone could respond to Malachi, Annabelle, whose heart was racing now, bit back, "Mudhole? What is that even? Can't you do better than 'mudhole?'"

Caradoc, never one to miss a witty response, shouted, "It's the hole Malachi was born out of!" And the class, even most of the Slytherins burst out in riotous laughter, except for Sirius, who was still staring at Annabelle. She was shaking with rage, but she laughed to give the impression that she was unaffected by Malachi's disgusting presence. Malachi had turned so red with anger and embarrassment she thought he might explode. Lily mouthed to her from across the room, "Stop NOW."

The teacher yelled at the class to settle down, just as Malachi lunged for Caradoc, and the boys had to pull them apart. McGonagall came tearing into the room, demanding to know what all the fuss was about. Annabelle was ready to report them, but caught sight of her friends, the boys included, looking fearfully at her, telling her with their eyes not to. So she kept quiet. And since no one would talk, the whole class was made to stay after class for ten minutes, except anyone who had to report for duty somewhere, meaning Annabelle, who had picked up an extra shift in the library that day. Caradoc and Malachi were given detention for a week in her office for fighting in class, and their next trip to Hogsmeade was taken away.

When McGonagall returned at the end of class to take over for the ten minute detention, Annabelle excused herself quickly to head to work, storming out of the room, but making sure to shoot a disdainful look at Malachi, who was watching her go with malevolence in his eyes.

Working in the library dragged, what with everything on her mind, and having to endure silence all of a sudden. Had she really said that about Malachi's parents? Slytherins like him really did bring out the worst in people. At least she would only be at work for an hour and half, but it felt like an eternity. By the end of her shift, she was totally drained, and she felt like skipping their next class to take a nap. She gathered her things and headed out the door into the foyer, quietly pulling the heavy wooden door shut behind her. She didn't expect to see Sirius standing against the opposite wall, hands in his pockets, looking very troubled indeed.

She jumped, and said, "Where'd you come from?"

"Out there," he replied, pointing to the door that led into large foyer.

"Okay, Mr. Literal," replied Annabelle, "Is something the matter?"

He stared at her a minute, his dark eyes studying her so intensely, that she felt a little dizzy.

"It was you, wasn't it," he said evenly, his steady gaze trying to penetrate her thoughts.

"What was me?" asked Annabelle, momentarily confused. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"That night, outside the Great Hall," he said.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she casually replied, and started to walk toward the door. But Sirius was next to her in a flash, walking backwards beside her so he could continue to read her expressions as he spoke.

"It was you, under your Invisibility Cloak. I heard what Lily said in Potions about borrowing it." She stopped walking at the door, but couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. He continued anyway. "That confirmed it for me. You had gone out to retrieve something from the Great Hall, and you saw us. You saw what they were doing. Now that it's hit me, it was odd that you hadn't asked that night where I'd been, coming in alone and all. It's because you knew where I was."

He wasn't going to let this go. She stood still, trying not betray her emotions, intently listening to every word trying to figure out if he was angry with her or not.

"And today, in class, you lashed out at him. They've said nasty things before, but today it really hit a nerve. Because you saw what they are capable of. You saw what they were going to do to me."

Annabelle stayed frozen in place, listening to him think out loud.

"I wondered why you were suddenly so remorseful, why you were feeling so guilty. It's because you realized that I wasn't the only aggressor when it came to picking on people. That I was a target too. Am I right?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, still not sure if he was upset with her or not. He didn't wait for her to answer.

"Was that the first time you cast a spell without a wand?" It was asked in earnest, or so it seemed. She was having a hard time reading him.

She slowly met his eyes. "Yes," she replied, her voice almost a whisper.

"To do that you have to be under extreme duress, so you must have been pretty frightened," he said.

"I was," she replied.

"Did you tell anyone what you saw?

"No."

Sirius said nothing; just paced slowly, deep in thought.

Annabelle had a hard time looking at him. He was distraught, and she somehow felt responsible.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked timidly.

Sirius stopped in his tracks. "About which part? The part where you saved me from a possible mauling, or the part where you didn't tell me that you did?"

"Either?" Annabelle squeaked.

"I could hardly be upset that you helped me; I'd have to be a complete idiot to be mad about that. But I'm confused as to why you didn't tell me. You could have told me when I came into the tower that night. Why, Annabelle? Why did you keep it a secret?"

"I didn't… know how… you had never mentioned it to me, so I felt like it was something I wasn't supposed to know. I didn't want you to feel like you had to explain or anything... I meant no harm."

"Oh, Annabelle, I know that you meant no harm. I know that," he said, sitting down on a step of the staircase that led to up to the fourth floor corridor. "You were trying to save me from embarrassment, weren't you? You felt sorry for me."

"Perhaps, but only because I know boys can be so stubborn and hard on themselves when they need help, but you were outnumbered and unarmed. No one would stand a chance in that situation, and I guess I'd feel sorry for anyone being ganged up on. Honestly, you have nothing to be embarrassed about," she said adamantly, sitting down next to him on the step.

"Thank you," he said. He paused again, his face sad and forlorn, then he sighed. "There is a lot about my family that you don't understand, and I really don't want to get into it right now, but I go way back with that wanker. Our parents are close friends, you see. He is on a mission to punish me for going against their beliefs, which I'm sure are becoming very clear to you."

"All I know for sure is that Malachi hates Mudbloods and thinks everyone else should too," she said straightforwardly.

Sirius flinched at the word. "Please, Annie, don't say that horrid word. Not only is it awful, it reminds me of my family. Not all pure blood wizards think that way, especially me. I don't want you to think that I am okay with that word. I don't think of you or any other non-pure blood wizard that way. It's utter rubbish."

"I figured you felt that way, considering who your friends are," she said. It hadn't escaped her that Sirius had just called her Annie. It made her smile, because it was a name only people who cared about her used. "And I won't say that word anymore, even though it doesn't hurt me when someone says it about me. I am enlightened enough to know that skill as a wizard isn't found in one's blood. He sounds ignorant when he says such things."

"I agree. I think the whole concept of pureblood wizards is ridiculous," he continued. "You're either a wizard or you're not. Why should it matter what your parents are? And why should it matter who you befriend or marry? Wizards are human after all, and basically all these pureblood wizards marrying each other has resulted in a lot of daft humans. My family is proof of that; they are completely mental. I wouldn't marry a pureblood for anything. My kids would end up with three heads.

"So that is why you're a wreck," Annabelle teased, laughing at his three-heads comment.

"Probably," Sirius answered dismally, missing the joke completely.

"Hey, I was just teasing you," she said gently. "You are obviously the exception, because there doesn't seem to be anything you can't do. As your Quidditch groupies would say, '_You're perfect._'" She said it to tease him, but she knew it wasn't too far off the mark.

"Hardly," he said with a chuckle. "And as for something I can't do; control my temper. That's always been a tough one."

"I'm afraid we have that in common," she said.

"I was just going to say that," he laughed. "By the way, why were you wearing an invisibility cloak that night? What did you need it for?"

Annabelle did not want to give away her secret tower. It was hers and hers alone. "Just a precaution," she said. "I don't like to be seen wandering the halls alone at night." It wasn't a lie.

"That's smart," he said. "I mean, I might have borrowed James' cloak and avoided all that trouble. Thanks for not telling Dumbledore, by the way."

"I should have," she said. "They were out for blood. Such cowards, attacking when it's three against one," she fumed. "I still might tell Dumbledore."

"No, Annabelle, please. Don't tell. Then our parents will get dragged into it, and bloody hell, I can't deal with that level of drama." He was getting worked up. "I said I wouldn't go off alone at night. They won't have a chance to get me alone."

"Okay, but what if they attack you when you are not alone? What if they get a bigger group and it's just you and James or somebody? What then?"

"Don't worry about it, Annabelle. We will take care of it, somehow," he said ominously. "Just don't involve Dumbledore."

"Fine," she agreed, "but if I think you are in immediate danger, I am going to straight to Dumbledore."

"After you Stupify them?"

"Obviously," she replied, grinning in spite of herself.

"One more thing," Sirius said. "After what you pulled in class today, just be careful. I don't think they would attack a girl, but that's not to say one of their female friends wouldn't. Your temper might have dragged you into this."

"I thought of that, and I'll be vigilant. No more solitary excursions through the castle for me, either."

"Good. Now that the mystery is solved, please promise me you'll tell me about it next time you save my hide," he requested.

"Alright, that's a promise."

"Are you heading to class?" he asked.

"Yes, even though I'd rather take a nap. Merlin, I'm starving though," she said, feeling her stomach growl.

"Quidditch will do that to you; make you both exhausted and ravenous. Soon you'll be sneaking food out of the Great Hall just to have something to eat again an hour later, after your nap," he joked as they went up the stairs.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

That evening, after more Quidditch practice, Annabelle was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open at dinner.

"I think I'm just going to sleep here tonight," she yawned, as everyone was getting up to leave, resting her head in her hands. "I don't think I can move my legs to get myself up to the tower."

"I'll help you Annie," exclaimed Johnny B. "Let's go." He hopped over the table and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

She laughed and squealed, ordering him to put her down, but he meant it. He was going to carry her all the way to the Common Room.

"NOPE!" he said firmly, "You need a good night's rest. I am taking you away and seeing to it you get right to bed, no lollygagging around." After a flight of stairs though, he set her down and said breathlessly, "Okay. I'm knackered too. Can't make it."

"Good, because I was about to be sick on you. You had me almost upside down!" she said, still laughing.

Once they were in the Common Room, James reminded them about practice; again, an early one. Annabelle went straight to the dorm, barely strong enough to put her pajamas on. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

"She's like a child after a long day of play," Alice mused.

Peter sneered, "You say the most peculiar things, Alice."

Alice just rolled her eyes. After they finished their homework and their typical nightly routines, they said their good nights and went up to their dorms. James and Lily stepped outside the common room to say theirs. Sirius went upstairs to get ready for bed himself, but found that he couldn't sleep. So he grabbed his literature book and went back downstairs.

"Hey, mate," he said to Remus, who was also reading. "I think I'll join you for a little bit if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"Nope. Not a wink. Too many things on my mind. Turns out it was Annabelle who cast the spells on those wankers. She was off to get something, too, and just happened to be there at the right time."

Remus' eyes widened. "No kidding?"

"Yeah, and lucky me she was, because I was going to be toast otherwise," he said.

"I'm glad the two of you are sort of friends now," said Remus. "I always thought you'd make good friends, except for the fact that you couldn't stand each other. You two getting along has already made this year very interesting."

"You mean a girl on the Quidditch team?" Sirius asked.

"That among other things," he said. "The game Saturday will certainly be fascinating."

The mention of the Quidditch game caused Sirius to grow quiet, and he stared into the fire, deep in thought.

"You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. What's going on, Sirius?" Remus asked.

Sirius answered, "Don't tell anyone, because I don't want to get a reputation as a worrier, but this game Saturday…."

"Is going to be exciting," Remus finished for him.

"Yes, but it's going to be nerve-wracking. And even more so considering the events of the last few days. This team is brutal. And I am really regretting getting Annabelle involved."

"I know. It's an awful burden having someone want to help you out. To care about you," he said sarcastically.

Sirius glared at him. "I don't mean that, Remus. Of course it's nice. It's a far cry better than her despising me, that's for sure."

Remus changed his tone, and said with sincerity, "Okay, let me edit that last statement. It's an awful burden caring about someone else, wanting to protect them."

Again Sirius shot him the side-eye, but didn't say anything at first. Remus was right. He did care about her, much to his own surprise. And he did feel the need to protect her, only because he was the one that roped her into this, he told himself.

"It's just that if we hadn't become friends, she wouldn't be in this mess with me," said Sirius, after he'd dwelled on it a bit more.

"But that's what friends do; they get involved in each others' messes, they help each other out," Remus said. "It's called loyalty. You are really good at it yourself."

Sirius replied, "So far she is the one saving me every time."

"You are saving her in Potions lab, that's for sure. And you will have other opportunities to repay her kindness," Remus said sagely.

"I hope so," said Sirius softly. "I really hope so."


	17. Rising Tensions

The rest of the week sped by, at least from Annabelle's perspective. She wished it would slow down, as she was dreading Saturday morning. Why did the first game have to be against their greatest rival, Slytherin, the hardest team to beat? She was exhausted, overwhelmed, barely able to keep her eyes open at night to do her homework, and extraordinarily terrified about what would be happening in one day's time. To add insult to injury, she was getting a nasty cold. She had taken some Pepperup Potion the night before, but it wasn't working very well. She was tempted to back out.

She sat on her bed after Friday morning's practice, rubbing lotion into her now sore hands. Lily and Alice came in just then.

"There you are," Lily said. "We've been looking for you. Thought you'd have gone straight to breakfast with the boys."

"Believe it or not, I have lost my appetite. I feel nauseous about tomorrow," she sniffled, just before sneezing.

"You have to eat, Annabelle. You will need your strength," said Alice. "Your cold has gotten worse."

"How did I let myself get talked into this? What in the bloody hell is wrong with my head? Me? On the Quidditch team? For feck's sake, what a ridiculous notion!" she exclaimed in a panic.

Lily and Alice rushed over to her and sat down on either side of her.

Lily put her arm around her and gave her a strong squeeze. "You have to relax, Annie!" she said. "You can't get all worked up over this!"

"Yeah, Annie," added Alice. "It's just a game."

"Not to them it isn't," replied Annabelle. "Especially this game. It's a war to them. And the Slytherin team is ruthless. I will be lucky if I survive! Why oh why did I say I'd do this?"

"Maybe we should let Sirius know how you feel," advised Alice. "You are sick on top of it all."

"Maybe," said Lily. "But no, because it's going to be fine. Telling Sirius will not solve anything. You asked why you said you'd do this. Here is the answer. They asked for your help. You wanted to help. That is all. Do you feel too sick to play? Because that would be the only reason I'd advise backing out."

"I can still play. They certainly would play with a cold. But how much help can I possibly be when I am terrified?" cried Annabelle, tears trickling down her flushed cheeks.

"Just take it for what it is Annabelle. So what if they eat, sleep, and breathe Quidditch," Lily explained. "You don't have to. Just try to catch the Snitch and avoid Bludgers. If the other Seeker catches the Snitch then so what? It's not like you didn't tell them you weren't confident about this. They know how tough Slytherin is to beat, and I honestly don't think they would be surprised if you didn't catch the Snitch."

"Obviously they do think I will, or they would have gone with that Arnold kid. This is going to be embarrassing, and painful," she lamented.

"If you don't catch the Snitch, and Slytherin wins for that reason, they will not say a word, because they will have to answer to us," said Alice, just as Dominica entered the room. "Right, Dominica?"

"Not me. Don't get me involved in this," she sneered.

"You wouldn't defend Annabelle? Why not?" asked Lily.

"Because I think she's a moron for trying to be on the team in the first place. She's a joke, now. Everyone is laughing at her behind her back."

"No they aren't," said Alice. "That's just not true. In fact, a lot of girls admire what she's doing, and wish they were doing it too."

"Why, because she gets to hang out 24/7 with the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Please, everyone knows they don't stand a chance with her on the team. Besides, Hufflepuff has the hotter guys, so who cares if Annabelle is on the Gryffindor team?" Annabelle couldn't believe Dominica, someone she's always thought of as an ally, was talking this way.

Lily glared at her. "She's clearly jealous, Annabelle. Ignore her."

Suddenly there was tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Jealous of what?" spat back Dominica.

"You know what," said Lily haughtily.

"Of you? Because you have a boyfriend that can't make up his mind whether he wants to be with you or not? Or of Annabelle, who thinks Sirius Black cares about her, but is really only using her to beat Slytherin? My bet is that when they lose because of Annabelle, he will drop her like a hot potato. He was pretty much forced to be her friend anyway by you and your hotshot boyfriend."

Annabelle was ready to explode on her. But Lily, calmly retorted, "See? Jealous."

"You are such bitches," Dominica snarled.

"Pot meet kettle," replied Alice. "What's gotten into you lately? You've been nothing but horrid to everyone. You don't know a thing about how Sirius feels, and you are not a part of Lily and James' relationship, so why do you think you are an expert?"

"It's obvious. I don't need to be an expert," she replied.

Annabelle had had enough. "I don't need this right now. I came in here for some peace, not to be attacked. Whatever your problem is, I didn't cause it. I have been nothing but a friend to you all these years," Annabelle said to Dominica, as she got up to leave. "But don't worry, I see how it is. I see your true colors now."

"Go run off to your teammates and tell them about that meanie Dominica! It will be the last time they pretend to care about you after tomorrow!" she chuckled.

"But I'm sure it won't be the last time you try to get into their pants after a game!" shouted Annabelle as she disappeared down the stairs.

Lily burst out laughing, but Alice just glared at Dominica.

"Oh, Dominica, she's got you there," said Lily on her way out of the room. Alice followed silently, leaving Dominica alone.

That night, Sirius took Annabelle out on the grounds to practice getting back on her broom. She had fallen off several times in practice, holding on by an arm, but someone always rushed to rescue her. He felt she needed to be able to do it without help in case someone couldn't get to her before a Bludger. They spent an hour and half, intensely working on it, both fraught with stress over the approaching match. She finally had the hang of it, even got pretty efficient at it. Sirius relaxed a little.

"Alright, Annie, I think you are as ready as you can possibly be at this point. Wish we had more time to practice. I'm going to be honest, they are brutal players. The Snitch is secondary to your safety. If you think they are trying to hurt you on purpose, forget the Snitch and just stay clear of trouble. We know there's a good chance they will beat us, so really, don't worry about winning," he said.

"Why all of a sudden are you so apprehensive? Because of what I said to Malachi?" she asked, alarmed.

"That's part of it," he replied, "but not all of it. They have some new players too, and they may not be the best players, but they are assholes of the highest order, and I wouldn't put it past them to play dirty."

"When were you going to tell me about these new players?"

"We only found out today. James didn't want to tell you. He thought it would make you more nervous than you already are. I agreed, but I think you should be fully aware of what the other team is about. My first concern is with your safety, and right now I am kicking myself for encouraging this nonsense," he said.

"I am kicking myself for agreeing to it," she said. "But I am not backing out now. That would be so much worse than playing and losing. It's the talk of the school now, and if I back out I will never live it down."

Sirius came face to face with her, and gripped her arms. "You can back out if you want to. Who cares what anyone thinks? I didn't know what their team was going to look like, or maybe I wasn't facing reality, but with everything that has been happening off the pitch with them, I just don't know if you should be up there."

"That's not what I want to hear," said Annabelle quietly. Then she sneezed three times.

"Bless you. You could always use your cold as your excuse."

"No Quidditch player worth his salt would sit out a game due to a cold, even I know that," said Annabelle. "Professional female players don't back out of games for colds... or terror. I can't either."

Suddenly they heard James, who was coming across the grass. "Sirius, you told her didn't you."

"I told you I was going to," Sirius said, letting go of Annabelle.

"Annabelle, don't listen to him. Yes, they are a brutal bunch, but you can be brutal too. You showed Malachi no fear today in class, now show the team no fear. If they sense fear they will already have an advantage. Even if you are crapping yourself out there, don't let them know," James said firmly.

"That's disgusting," said Annabelle, stifling a laugh.

"You know what I mean," he continued. "Act like you own the place. Pretend you have been at this game for ages."

"James, she's sick," said Sirius. "She's also not one of Slytherin's favorite people. Maybe we shouldn't encourage her to taunt them."

"If she gets her head knocked off, I'll take the blame," James teased.

"Very funny," said Annabelle.

"Just relax, both of you. If you go in all tense, then we're doomed. Just stop thinking about it. Come back to the dorms and get some sleep. Take some Pepperup. Man, were you two going to stay out here all night? You know those Slytherin gits could be plotting their revenge," James said, "which is why I came out here. Let's go before trouble finds us."

"We were just heading in," said Sirius, finding it difficult to follow James' advice. Now he had the image of Annabelle's head getting knocked off to deal with, and no matter what James said, he would only blame himself.


	18. Mighty Gryffindor

**A/N: In this fic, Quidditch runs on more of a traditional sports schedule. Quidditch "season" is in the fall, and they play each house twice, since Gryffindor playing three games just doesn't seem like enough! ********(One chance to beat Slytherin? No fair!) **Since the Marauder era was not very detailed in the books, I am going with a different Quidditch schedule that may have changed by Harry's time.  


* * *

Annabelle tossed and turned all night, her sleep fraught with nightmares. At least she slept. Her cold hadn't gotten much better, but thankfully it hadn't gotten any worse. She remembered James' words, "Just relax…pretend you've been at the game for ages… show no fear…." She repeated the words like a mantra in her head as Septima French-plaited her hair for the game.

She met Sirius and Remus in the Common Room.

Sirius smiled coyly, and said, "How are we doing this morning?"

"Just trying to stay focused," she replied.

"Good. That's a good attitude," he said, as he patted her on the back. They walked to the Great Hall together. Breakfast was more relaxed on Saturdays, with kids trailing in late, and pretty much coming and going as they pleased. Annabelle suddenly felt nostalgic for the days when Saturdays were carefree for her as well. How she longed to have this weight lifted. Several members of the team were already there eating, and the rest filed in shortly after. They were all nervous, Annabelle could tell. But they were also excited. Annabelle could barely swallow her food.

"Oh no, someone give me a pep talk, I'm starting to panic a bit," she said hoarsely, fanning herself with her hand.

The rest of the team shifted uncomfortably and looked at her with a mix of pity, annoyance, and understanding. Sirius gently pushed her hand down.

"Look at me," he said softly, and she complied. "Smile, just smile. Now laugh." She laughed, but only because it was weird to have someone telling you to laugh. "Now keep that smile on your face. They are watching us. Don't give them a clue as to how you are feeling. James was right yesterday. You are going to be fine, win or lose. You know how to deflect a Bludger, you know how to get back on your broom, and you know how to catch a Snitch if the opportunity should present itself. And if you don't catch it, remember, even the pros can't win every game. No one is going to hold it against you. Right fellas?"

"That's the truth, Annabelle," said Fairfax.

"Yup, he's right. We know they are tough and we know this is all new to you. No pressure," agreed Caradoc, who had warmed up to Annabelle after she told off Malachi in class.

"Annie, you already know I love you no matter what," said Johnny B. "You could fly around the whole match doing handstands on your broom while yodeling "God Save the Queen" and I'd still think you were ace."

For some reason, this made Annabelle laugh hysterically. Sirius and Remus started laughing too. James was drinking his tea when he said it and ended up snorting it out of his nose. Annabelle couldn't stop laughing. Maybe it was all the stress releasing itself, but soon the whole team was laughing. Annabelle was doubled over, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh my, ouch… it hurts," she laughed. And just when they would finally stop laughing, someone would inevitably start again and they'd all be in stitches. The Slytherins were not seeing a nervous, intimidated team, that was for sure. This was not lost on any of them.

Dominica had come in with Septima while they were laughing but went straight to where her new seventh year friends were sitting. She looked at Annabelle smugly, but Annabelle wasn't going to let her affect her. Lily was right. Dominica was jealous. Why didn't she just try out for the team herself, instead of being mad at Annabelle? It made no sense.

Lily and Alice came in soon after, just as the team was about to go get into their Quidditch uniforms. Some of the more avid fans were already heading out to the pitch to get seats. Annabelle's stomach gave a huge lurch when reality came crashing back again. Lily and Alice pulled her aside and gave her some encouragement.

"You are going to be fine, Annie. You are amazing, blazing a trail for the girls here at Hogwarts. Be proud. Hold your head high!" she cheered. "We will be there rooting for you!"

"And if anything bad happens, Madame Pomfrey is great at healing," added Alice.

"Gee, thanks Alice. I feel so much better knowing that."

The girls shared a quick hug. Then Lily pulled James aside to wish him luck too, being careful not to embarrass him. Much to her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss, in front of everyone. His teammates all hooted immaturely.

"Wow, what was that for?" she asked, smiling.

"For good luck. I'm going to need it," he said.

Annabelle felt like she was being led to the slaughter. All the way to the pitch, she envisioned every possible atrocity that could take place. Her stomach kept lurching as well.

"You look like you are going keel over," Sirius said to her, offering her his arm.

She took it, glad for the security it provided, lest she actually pass out from nerves. Once inside the changing rooms, Annabelle saw that there was an area sectioned off for her to change privately. Her Quidditch uniform was already hanging there, placed there by Madame Hooch, the flying instructor and advisor for the Quidditch teams. It said O'Neill in big gold letters, and she was reminded of her grandfather, and how proud he would be at this moment. She wanted to make him proud, but she was so afraid. She was shaking as she changed, hearing the boys on the other side of the divide talking smack to get themselves psyched for the game, and all she wanted to do was curl up in a corner and hide.

Finally, they were all ready, just waiting for the signal to fly out onto the pitch.

"Just follow me," Johnny B. said. "Then we will get into position."

"Annabelle, you look awfully pale," said Sirius. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Just a case of the collywobbles," she said. "Uh oh, I think I'm going to be sick." She turned away from them all but couldn't make it outside. Instead she barfed in a corner.

"I'll hold your braids, Annie," said Johnny B. He plugged his nose with the other hand. The others looked at each other uneasily, hoping they wouldn't get sick too.

"Sorry about that!" she said. "I should get my wand and clean it up."

"Don't worry about it now, Annabelle, an elf will do it. Have a sip of water because it's time," said James. "Relax. Okay? Smile. You are a Gryffindor." Then he turned to the rest of the team who were eager to get out on the pitch mainly to escape the barf, and bellowed, "We can do this, team! We are mighty Gryffindor! Let's show them what we're made of!"

The boys all hooted and cheered and the doors began to open.

"Breathe, Annie. You will get through this," said Sirius.

She nodded, and when Johnny B. took off, she followed, with Sirius behind her. The announcer was saying their names and positions. The crowd was cheering, but they seemed far away somehow. She felt like she was having an out of body experience, and everything that was happening around her was just sweeping her along.

Suddenly the game had begun, and she found herself flying above the other players at first, because it just felt safer. She eyed the other Seeker, Otto Mingus, a giant, muscle-bound, light-haired boy who looked at her like he wanted to obliterate her. She showed no emotion, even though inside she was panicking.

Several times in the first hour, he tried to trick her. She returned the favor by almost running him into the ground. He had underestimated her; she knew he would. Once or twice they both saw the Snitch, but they always lost sight of it before it could be caught. The Bludgers came round a few times, once because a member of the other team smacked it right at her. She ducked in the nick of time. It wasn't until she was on the other side of the pitch that she saw the little golden ball flash in her peripheral vision. She made a move in the other direction, and so did Otto. But then she jerked her broom back the other way, looking in the direction it had flown. There it was, right by the Gryffindor stands. She made a beeline for it. Otto had hesitated because he thought she was bluffing. She almost had it when a Bludger breezed past her head and she had to turn to avoid colliding with it.

The Snitch had changed direction too. Otto now had the advantage, but Annabelle wasn't going down without a fight. She went as fast as her broom could take her, trailing him. A Bludger came at him and he had to deflect it, which put them side by side, flying straight over the center of the pitch, both hands about to touch the Snitch. Annabelle leaned out, stretching her arm as far as she could. Just as her finger was about to make contact, a Bludger came flying into Otto, which sent him flying into Annabelle with such force that it knocked her off her broom. She held on and remounted it as Sirius had taught her, but it was too late. Otto had the Snitch. Before she knew it, Caradoc launched into him.

"You did that on purpose you cheat!" he cried landing a punch across his cheek just under his right eye. Without wands, the boys had to duke it out the Muggle way, which they seemed to prefer anyway. Quickly though, Madame Hooch and some of the other players were breaking them up. But it was hard to prove cheating in Quidditch, since it moved so quickly, and Bludgers were so unpredictable. Slytherin had won.

Usually the teams shook hands after a match, but after what had happened with Caradoc, Madame Hooch sent them straight to the changing rooms. She didn't want any more fights.

Annabelle flew into their station, dropped her broom and fell into Johnny B.'s chest, hands hiding her face. Sirius put a hand on her back and tried to talk to her, as the rest of the team filed into the room.

"Annabelle," he said in a tender voice, "You did amazing. You really had him going!"

"Yeah, Annabelle," said Fairfax. "You would have had it if that fecker hadn't cheated."

She turned around to face them, wiping her eyes, while Johnny B. put his arms around her and rested his head on hers.

"Shite, I didn't want to do the crying thing," she said.

"Feck it, I feel like crying I'm so angry," Caradoc hollered, his cheek already swollen from Otto's iron fist. "I bloody saw that sodding arse flying around, waiting for the other one to pass him a Bludger so he could smack it into that wanker. I tried to get in his way but that Hornsby arse blocked me. I saw it coming a mile away!"

"If I'd been stronger, maybe I could have…" Annabelle began.

"No, Annabelle," James said. "Don't do that. They went to great lengths to set that up."

"But it shouldn't matter. Even if the Bludger came at him by accident, it still would have overpowered me."

"_No, _Annabelle," said Caradoc. "He used the Bludger as an _excuse _to plough into you. Don't you see? No way he would have smacked into you that hard from a Bludger. Look at the size of him! You would have had the Snitch fair and square."

Just then Madame Hooch and the Headmistress entered the room. Instantly the boys began explaining and protesting all at once.

"Silence!" shouted McGonangall. "Now just hear us out. We understand your claims Mr. Dearborn, and we are apt to believe them."

"They aren't just claims, their Beater and him purposely…" he began, but McGonagall cut him off.

"Hush! I know this," she snapped. "Don't you think I recognize how they operate? But the problem is, there is no way to prove that they had any ill intent. You will have to work on figuring out their tactics before December where you will get a second chance." Then she turned to Annabelle. "You, my dear, were impressive out there. You did this school proud, so don't you fret for a second."

"That's the truth!" Rory Finnegan, a third-year chaser agreed.

"But, Annabelle," she said, "you look awfully ill. I think this Quidditch season comes on too fast and aggressive for all of you. Madame Hooch and I may be adjusting the schedule for next year. Less games, more spread out."

A collective muttering of protest rose from the team.

"Not because I'm sick, I hope. People get sick; it isn't Quidditch's fault," said Annabelle.

"No, Miss O'Neill," replied Hooch. "We have been considering this since last year. But any changes, if they do take place, won't happen until next year. We'll reexamine the idea in June."

"As if the day couldn't get any worse," murmured Caradoc.

"Oh the day is about to get worse for you, young man," admonished Hooch. "There is to be no fighting on the Hogwarts pitch, no matter what you think happened. Your parents didn't come in from Manchester to see you punching people in the face. If it happens again, you will be off the team. For now though, you will be doing detention with me all week, cleaning the changing rooms along with Otto Mingus."

"This is in addition to your detentions with me, Mr. Dearborn. Now, please, learn some self-control," chided McGonagall.

Caradoc scowled rather forlornly, and muttered, "Yes Ma'am."

"Now go get cleaned up," said McGonagall. "Contrary to what Mr. Dearborn here believes, it was a good day on the pitch for Gryffindor. You played well, you scored a great deal of points, and you all made your house proud. See you in the Great Hall."

As everyone filed out of the room, Sirius hung behind, looking at Annabelle. She had a feeling he wanted to say something to her, so she didn't move. Was this the moment where he ditched her friendship as Dominica said he would? Instead, once they were alone, he walked toward her and wrapped her up in a warm hug. It was so unexpected, but so sweet, and she remembered how worried he'd been for her sake.

"I thought you were done for when he knocked into you," he said with a squeeze.

"So you're not mad at me?" she asked, her face pressed into his shoulder.

He pulled back to look at her and said, "Mad? Are you joking? You were great out there Annabelle! Why on earth would I be mad? No, no, no."

She nodded, and said, "Thank you."

"I don't want to hear you blaming yourself. You gave it your best shot against a dirty no-good team. We all did. McGonagall's right, you make us proud. I don't think I've ever felt prouder to be a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team than I do today. Really."

Annabelle was fighting tears again. "I'm glad we're friends now," was all she could manage in response without getting weepy.

"The feeling is mutual," he replied.

Then, before it could turn into a sap fest, she linked her arm through his and they followed the others. "Let's go, I'm starving," she said.

He laughed, and said, "Considering you lost your breakfast all over the floor, I'm not surprised."

The team entered the Great Hall all together. The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers. Just as they passed through the doors, Johnny B. and Fairfax hoisted her up on their shoulders. She screeched in surprise, but Fairfax said, "Don't worry, we've got you!"

The Slytherins, who had been celebrating, were sullen and a bit confused. Elsinore Collins was burning up with hatred for Annabelle. Why were the Gryffindors celebrating? She didn't catch the Snitch. THEY LOST. _Morons._

Annabelle was touched, but equally embarrassed by all the attention. They were really going out of their way to let her know they valued her. And Caradoc was right. She would have had that Snitch if Otto hadn't pushed her off her broom, on purpose.

At the table, James stood up, cleared his throat, and clinked his glass with his spoon.

"I'd like to say a few words, if you all don't mind." The team members and their friends quieted. "I just want to say that, although we lost today, it wasn't for want of trying, for drive and motivation, and for facing the things that scare us the most. We gave it all we had, we played like true Gryffindors, and that is all a captain can ask of his team. To our returning team members, welcome back. Your talents have helped get us to where we are today. To our new team members, welcome, and we are lucky to have you. To our friends and girlfriends, who have put up with us and our Quidditch obsession, thanks for encouraging us and being understanding." He looked at Lily when he said this. "And finally, a word to one of our new members in particular, to Annabelle." Everyone looked at her. She blushed, but smiled. "You have worked tirelessly this past week, most of time wishing you were off doing something else," here, everyone laughed, "just so you could fill an important position on your house's team. You knew you were needed, and to all of us, you were the real winner today. You were a true competitor, and… we'd all like to ask that you stay on the team for the rest of the season." They all looked at her hopefully. "Well?" James asked.

"How could I say no to that?" she said, genuinely moved. "Yes, I'll stay on the team, as long as you'll all have me." They all cheered, except for Dominica, who had been sitting at the end of the table, ignoring them all. Johnny B., who hated to see anyone being left out, called over to her.

"Hey Dominica, get your arse over here and celebrate with us!" he called enthusiastically.

"Yeah, come on!" echoed Fairfax.

She smiled reluctantly, got up and squeezed in next to Peter. Annabelle thought maybe she was coming around, and smiled at her hopefully, but Dominica didn't smile back. Instead she turned to Caradoc and started her usual post-game flirting with any player that suited her at that moment.

Elsinore Collins saw their smiling faces, and the attention being showered on this Annabelle hag. She wasn't happy. Even though Slytherin won, their celebration was much tamer. The captain stood up and said well done, but next time, do better. Elsinore knew it was because they had almost lost. Because of a girl. A girl she now hated.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, if you've made it this far, please let me know what you think! :)**


	19. Lady Annabelle

September passed and soon it was October in all its colorful glory. The stress of not having her first Quidditch match looming over her had vanished. Thankfully, the old drama with Sirius and James now also seemed like a distant memory. Annabelle was doing so much better in Potions now that she had Sirius's help, and he was really getting into Literature ever since they started reading their assigned novel together. They even had a routine going. Common room after dinner; usually the others would join them for bit, but it always started and ended with the two of them. First Potions, then other assignments and finally, reading, which always involved intentional over-acting and fits of laughter.

One night, they were up too late, cracking each other up with their dramatic readings, then just generally making each other laugh about things. They were both rather good at impressions and were lovingly imitating their professors. After all the stress of the beginning of the year, it felt liberating to just be silly. Eventually, Sirius asked, "You want to sneak down to the kitchens for a snack?"

Annabelle thought about it for a moment. She decided to go with it instead of being the wet noodle of worry. "Sure," she said.

"Any way we can use your invisibility cloak?" he asked. He knew James had one, but he couldn't borrow it without waking him up, and that meant possibly waking everyone up. The endless prospects for adventure flashed before his eyes knowing that there were two invisibility cloaks among the lot of them.

"I keep it locked in my trunk, but I can sneak in there and try to get it. Lorelei is probably in her snoring stage of sleep by now. No one will hear me coming in over that racket."

Annabelle tiptoed quietly into her dorm room where the other girls lay sleeping, took her cloak from the trunk at the end of her bed, and disappeared as quiet as a mouse down the stairs.

It was difficult for the two of them to stifle their giggles while navigating the dark halls down to the kitchen. A couple times they thought they heard Filch and had to hide in an alcove and try to keep from laughing. She figured out pretty fast why Sirius and his friends liked to sneak out so much. It was quite fun really, sneaking around the castle under an invisibility cloak together. Maybe not the safest or wisest thing to do, but when you are stuck at boarding school 24/7 with limited entertainment options, you have to get creative.

And something about Sirius himself. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but she couldn't pretend that she didn't enjoy his company. It helped that he was absolutely stunning to look at, something she'd only recently admitted to herself now that the sight of him wasn't marred with sneers and scowls and misunderstandings. But it was more than that. Beneath the surface of this beautiful, self-assured, Quidditch-obsessed boy was a sensitive, funny, and remarkable young man.

That being said, he sometimes seemed a million miles away, and hardly ever mentioned his family problems. She thought maybe he took comfort in the fact that Annabelle wasn't some lovesick fool. She refused to let herself be sucked into the boy-crush drama anyway, despite Lily's prodding. His friendship meant too much to her. Why mess it up?

What Annabelle could never have guessed, was that Sirius was having similar thoughts about her. He had been reluctant to get to know her in the beginning, only making peace with her to placate his best mate. But the way things were working out, he found himself actually wanting to spend time with her. She was so unassuming, despite her grandfather having been a great wizard and Dumbledore's friend. Also, unlike Elsinore, who seemed conscious of her own beauty, Annabelle's obliviousness to her looks made her even more beguiling somehow. Even her quirks were endearing to him; her temper, her poor Potions skills, and oddly enough, her constant worrying. He only regretted that they couldn't have been friends sooner.

There was still so much about her that he didn't know, things that take time to come to light, and she was extremely guarded about her past. As far as he knew, she hadn't given too many boys the time of day, except for Remus, whom everyone loved, and Johnny B. who was gay. And now him. He liked that he was now included in the privileged few that she'd let in, but he reminded himself that she clearly only wanted friendship, and that was enough. Just look at Lily and James' turbulent, on again-off again relationship. When things were good with them, they were great. But when things went bad, they didn't even talk to each other. Sirius had only been friendly with Annabelle for just over a month, and yet he already couldn't imagine not speaking to her. Love only complicated things.

Finally, they made it down to the kitchens. The house-elves should have all been sleeping, but they weren't, they discovered, after they'd taken off their cloak and opened the fridge.

"Can Izzy help you?" asked a high pitched voice from behind them. They both jumped, and turned to see a young house-elf beaming at them.

"Oh my, you scared us," said Annabelle, her hand over her heart.

"You're not going to tell, are you?" Sirius asked, eying the young elf suspiciously.

"Oh noooo, Izzy would never tell on Lady Annabelle. Or her friends. No, never ever ever!" the elf squealed.

Sirius snickered irreverently at Annabelle being addressed as_ Lady_.

"Sorry, but I must ask," said Annabelle politely, trying not to giggle as well, "Why did you call me 'Lady'?"

"Why your grandfather, of course!" she said, her eyes wide. "The mighty Darien O'Neill was like royalty to house-elves. Still is, rest his eternal soul."

Annabelle's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why?"

"Oh, your grandfather was a great champion of elf rights. He was truly a man of honor," Izzy explained.

"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "He did support elf rights. Almost forgot about that." He looked at Annabelle and noticed that she looked suddenly confused. It hit him then. "You didn't know." It was more a statement than a question.

"There is a lot I didn't know," Annabelle said sadly. She turned and sat down on a kitchen stool.

Sirius and the young elf exchanged looks. Thankfully the elf spoke because Sirius was at a loss for words.

"Lady Annabelle needn't be sad. Izzy knows it must be hard when she can no longer ask him…" the elf began, but Annabelle stood up and abruptly cut her off.

"No, it's alright. I am pleased to hear he left an impression. So you won't mind if we sneak a little snack?" Annabelle said, opening the fridge again. She wanted to change the subject. One thing she knew about boys was that they couldn't handle girls crying. And she also didn't want to ruin the fun they'd been having.

The elf and Sirius exchanged glances, and the elf said, "Of course Izzy doesn't mind, and Izzy won't tell a soul!"

"Thank you," said Annabelle.

"Of course, milady," she replied. Sirius grinned again.

"Please, don't call me that. It isn't necessary. You have been so kind, we do appreciate it."

"My stomach appreciates it, too," said Sirius, trying to lighten the mood. Izzy smiled shyly and batted her eyelashes at him.

"If you look in the back there, behind that ham, there is a Victoria sponge cake that Izzy made. Please, try it? Please? Tell Izzy what you think?" she asked.

"Ooooh, yes please," said Annabelle. She pulled it out and Izzy cut them each a piece.

"Best cake I've ever had," said Sirius, after taking a bite.

"Yes, Izzy, you did a great job, thank you so much," said Annabelle.

"Can Izzy get you anything else? Anything at all?"

"You don't have to lift a finger for us Izzy, really," said Annabelle. "I'm satisfied with this cake. Sirius?"

"No, thank you. This is perfect."

"Izzy is so glad you like it! Come back anytime! But, don't get caught," she giggled. "Izzy will leave you now. Izzy was just cleaning up a bit!" She started to leave the room, but continued talking. "Izzy likes to practice baking at night when everyone is asleep. Get back to your dorms safely now!"

"Cheers, Izzy, good night," said Annabelle.

After she was gone, Sirius said, "Isn't it annoying how house-elves always talk in third person? Izzy is glad, Izzy made cake, Izzy …."

"Shhh, what if she can still hear you? I agree, but I think it's rather sad. It's like they are so oppressed that they've lost all sense of self," replied Annabelle.

He was intrigued by her thoughts on the matter. For someone unaware of her grandfather's belief in house-elf rights, she sure sounded a lot like him. Sirius had never thought much about the topic of house-elves, but she did seem to have a point. He thought about Kreacher, his family's house-elf, and how he had no mind of his own. "You might be right about that. The house elf I grew up with shares a brain with my mum I think." Just as Annabelle was going to inquire about his mum, they heard a noise in another room off the kitchen. "Come on, let's go eat this down the hall before anyone else discovers us in here," said Sirius.

They walked down to the end of the large corridor to a circular alcove lit dimly by two torches and sat down on the floor.

"Izzy was adorable," said Annabelle.

"Yes, she was very sweet," said Sirius, not sure if he should bring up the conversation about her grandfather. He didn't know why she wouldn't have known, but he didn't want to pry and upset her by talking about it again. But she was suddenly subdued, and very quiet.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

"Oh, nothing much," she said, a frown on her face as she stared at her plate.

"You can talk to me, you know," he said. "I mean, if you want to. It might help."

She continued to stare at her plate and push what was left of her cake around with her fork. After a moment, she said, "I don't want to spoil our fun."

Sirius put down his plate and turned so he was facing her.

"Come on, now. We're friends, right?" he asked. "And you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Give me some credit then. I know friendship isn't just about laughs. I'd hate for you to think I was a fair-weather friend, because I'm not. Just talk to me, Annabelle."

She looked at him and could tell he meant everything he said. It seemed important to him that his friends trust him completely, and that he wouldn't judge.

"Okay, fine. It probably struck you as odd that the granddaughter of the great Darien O'Neill wasn't aware of his elf-rights activism," she said to him, "but that you and Izzy, both strangers to him, did."

"Somewhat, yes," he replied gently.

Annabelle went on to explain, part of her story anyway, about how her grandfather had kept it secret from her that he was a celebrated wizard, leading a magical life every time he walked out the door. Sure, he'd told her fairytales and myths, even stories of wizards, but they were only pretend to her.

Sirius shook his head in amazement. "I can't imagine not knowing about magic," he said.

"Neither can I, now. Anyway, he was close with Dumbledore. He was like a mentor to my grandfather early on in life. They served on the Wizengamot for a few years together before he died. I guess that's why he left me to his care in his will. After he'd passed, I'd been staying with a witch who was also their friend, Mrs. Pennifold. She witnessed me doing accidental magic on a couple occasions. She alerted Dumbledore and they filled me on the whole story just a few months before coming here."

"To find out a strange old wizard is now in charge of your life _and_ he's your headmaster?" Sirius gave a shudder. "Not sure I'd be keen on that bit of news. Why didn't your grandfather ever tell you he was a wizard?"

"According to Dumbledore, it was because my mum turned out to be a squib, and around the age we are now, she developed major problems with drinking, drugs, all sorts of self-destructive behavior… I guess she barely knew my muggle father, which is why I have her surname. Granddad assumed that having a wizard for a father, or maybe knowing she was different, sent her over the edge. I don't believe that's the reason, but he hid it from me, just in case I was a squib as well for fear I'd go down the same path."

"Your poor granddad," Sirius lamented. "It must have been hard for him to hide that he was a wizard while living under the same roof as you."

"Yeah, apparently it was…That's also why I lived with my granddad; because she took off... but I wouldn't be surprised if the entire wizarding world already knew that too," she muttered glumly.

"I didn't know about it, if that's any consolation," offered Sirius.

Annabelle smiled weakly. "Well, he never got the chance to tell me anything, because I didn't start showing signs of magic until after he was… gone. He just wanted to protect me."

She stopped talking as her voice caught. Sirius felt bad for all the times he and his mates had called her _Dumbledore's Darling_ behind her back.

"He kept diaries for my sake though, which he had wanted me to have if I turned out to have magical abilities. I spent the summer before school started reading them. I don't recall anything about elf rights, but it does sound like him. He spoke a lot about justice and equality in general," she explained. "So, as crazy as it was to have my world turned upside down, and to be told a 'strange old wizard' would now be the one in charge of my affairs, I was also excited, mainly because I would be part of my grandfather's world. It made me feel close to him again."

She grew silent again, and Sirius knew that now was not the time to ask any more questions, not that he didn't have a million. There would be time for that later. For now, he could see she was fading, and they still had to get back to the dorm without getting caught.

"Despite not knowing he was a wizard, I'm sure you knew him better than anyone, Annabelle," said Sirius. "He was your granddad, and from the way you talk about him, it's clear that you had a very special bond with him. He obviously loved you very much."

She nodded, then she smiled and sighed. "Thanks for listening. You were right; sharing helps."

"Anytime, Annabelle. I mean it," he replied earnestly.

"Next time we do this, it will be your turn to fill me in on _your _story," she said as they got up to return their plates to the kitchen.

"Now there's an awfully dull story," he said.

"I somehow doubt that," she said as he tossed the cloak over them.

Again, they tried not to laugh as they tripped their way through the corridors, huddled close together. Annabelle felt like nothing could go wrong with him around. Something about his easy confidence and his flair for all things wizarding, along with the new trust between them. Sirius Black was now a friend, but why shouldn't he be? He was human, after all, and so was she.

Just before they returned to the common room, they heard Filch, and he was following them. They had to hide again in a corner, where they were trying so hard to contain their laughter they thought they might burst. Finally, he left and they made it to the Gryffindor common room where they collapsed on the sofa in front of the fireplace in silent laughter, trying hard not to make a peep.

Eventually, they calmed down. The fire felt so warm and Annabelle knew her dorm room would be freezing. She was also suddenly so tired she didn't know if her legs could carry her up the twisting stairs.

"I'm just going to sleep here," Annabelle said, eyes starting to close already.

"That's not safe, Annabelle. Why not go to your room?" Sirius asked sleepily, his eyes closing too.

"Lorelei won't let us turn up the stove. Says she sweats like a dragon all night, even though she doesn't even cover with a blanket," she murmured.

"You all just freeze for her sake?"

"It's preferable for us to wear more clothes and blankets than for her to take off her layers if you know what I mean."

Sirius smiled drowsily. "Point taken."

"So I'm going to stay here." She curled up with her head on the back of the sofa.

"Then I am too. Not going to leave you alone down here," he said, already starting to drift off.

Annabelle felt her head fall onto his shoulder and she immediately lifted it, but just couldn't hold it up any longer and gave in. She somehow knew he wouldn't mind. Soon after, Sirius's head nodded as well, and rested upon Annabelle's. And they were fast asleep.


	20. Double Trouble

Annabelle felt a tapping on her knee. She opened her eyes to see that Lily, Alice, James, and Remus were all surrounding them. They were still in their nightclothes, but the sun was just starting to peek through the windows. Annabelle lifted her head, causing Sirius's head to fall and him to wake up as well. He looked at the group in front of him, then at Annabelle, then back at the group.

"What time is it?" he asked, slightly disoriented.

"Time to get upstairs before you get caught sleeping in the common room," hissed James. "Or do you want to miss Hogsmeade again?"

Annabelle rubbed her eyes and quickly stood up. "Oh my goodness, we were so tired. We didn't plan on falling asleep here. Do you really think the prefects would rat us out?"

"Probably not the prefects," said James. "But anyone could come down here and see you. Anyone could tell on you."

"Didn't think of that," she admitted. She thought of Dominica.

"When I woke up and I saw you were gone, I panicked," said Lily. "I grabbed Alice and we were going to go straight to McGonagall."

"But when we saw you two sound asleep, we hated to wake you. So Lily woke James with their two-way mirror," said Alice, grinning.

"We couldn't let them miss this!" giggled Lily. Annabelle's cheeks went red.

"So, how long were you standing there?" asked Sirius grumpily.

"Not long," replied James. "They may be laughing at you, but I don't think it's funny. Why in the bloody hell are you trying to get detention again?"

"I don't see how falling asleep on the couch could be an infraction," said Annabelle.

"Students are supposed to be out of the common rooms and in their dorms by eleven o'clock. You are still in your clothes! It's six in the morning," he hissed.

"Maybe you should take over as prefect, mate," sneered Sirius. "And if we are in our clothes, who's to say we just didn't get up early and come down to the common room to do work or something? Way to overreact."

James replied, "So what if McGonagall had come by? And saw you two sleeping on the couch?"

Sirius sighed. "Alright, James. You've got a point. But she didn't, so calm down."

"Why _did_ you stay up all night?" asked Lily, genuinely curious.

James eyed the invisibility cloak on the couch. "I see someone has an invisibility cloak. You want to tell us where you went last night?"

Annabelle grabbed the cloak and tucked it under her arm. She blushed again and lowered her eyes, glancing at Sirius.

Just then Peter stumbled into the room, still waking up. His hair was sticking up all over, and everyone giggled at the sight of him, despite being mid-argument.

"Hey, what did I miss? Why are you all down here at this bloody hour?" he asked, scratching head. "Did you sneak out without me?"

"Sirius and Annabelle here decided to stay up half the night roaming the castle and fell asleep on the couch," James replied bitterly.

"Actually, we went down to the kitchen for a snack," said Sirius. "We were up late doing homework, and we got hungry. It's no big deal. And I find it quite comical that you of all people are getting all uppity over us sneaking out, considering you are usually the ring leader in such situations."

"He's got a point there," said Remus. "Why are you making such an issue out of it?"

James was flustered. "Because… well… SHE'S not used to sneaking out. If she gave you away then they'd be on to us!"

Now Annabelle was ticked off. "On the contrary, I am not some dimwit who would go cackling through the corridors at midnight. And it's my cloak and I can do with it as I please," said Annabelle, offended at the implication that it was her and her alone that would get them caught. " On that note, I'm going upstairs to get ready for the day." And she turned and went up the stairs.

Sirius glared at James. "Was this reaction necessary? Are you going to tell me that you haven't sneaked out with Lily before?" Now it was James's turn to blush. Sirius went on, "But if there are rules about this sort of thing, be sure to fill me in on them, so I don't fall out of line again." With that, he stormed off to the boys' dorm.

"Come on, man! I didn't mean…" James called, but Sirius was gone.

"Jamie, come on, don't you think you are overreacting just a touch?" asked Lily. James didn't respond, but sat down on the couch and ran his hand through his hair in frustration, so she said, "I'm going back upstairs before we end up the ones in trouble," and she and Alice followed Annabelle.

Remus stayed behind and said, "What is bothering you about this mate?"

"I don't know," said James. "They just seemed careless, staying down here all night, that's all. Like they don't care if they get caught. Maybe hanging around with _Dumbledore's Darling_ makes it less risky. I don't know."

"I don't think you are giving Sirius enough credit," said Remus. "He really likes her. It's obvious."

"Ya think?" said James sarcastically. "The way they were all snuggled up would make anyone wonder what they were really up to last night."

"James," said Remus, "I think you need to look at it for what it is. They are friends now, which from the way I see it, has only helped you with Lily. And they were up late doing homework, presumably Potions, because they are now lab partners, as you _well _know. Then they did something we've all four of us done more times than I can count, sneak out for a snack. When you think of how much worse we've done, it does make one question why you are getting upset over it."

"I don't know why either. Maybe it's just how things are shifting; change and all that. The only time the four of us sneak out anymore is at the full moon. It's kind of depressing. But I need another hour sleep or I am not going to make it today," said James, avoiding getting too deep. "And we have practice this afternoon."

Upstairs, Lily and Alice found Annabelle in the bathroom about to brush her teeth. "What was THAT all about?" asked Lily, eyes wide and a huge grin on her face.

"Here we go," said Annabelle. "You are going to be rather disappointed in the answer."

"Tell us anyway," said Lily.

"It was exactly as he said it was. Stayed up late doing work, then we just started talking and joking around. He suggested going to get a snack, and I didn't want to be the scaredy-cat, so I agreed to it. Then we stayed down there talking to a house elf, and after a little while, we came back."

"After a little while of _what_?" asked Lily.

"Oh Lily, how you read into things. A little talking. That's ALL. I am telling you, we talked. We laughed. We crashed on the sofa. Nothing else, really. How many times do I have to tell you he is just a friend?"

"I can dream, can't I," winked Lily.

"You are going to be dreaming for a long time, because we are really just friends, and I am pretty sure he feels the same way," said Annabelle.

"We'll see about that," teased Lily.

Annabelle just shook her head and brushed her teeth.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Later that day, Sirius and Remus were sitting out on the quad, soaking up the last few days of sunny weather before the cold spell moved in and stayed until spring. Well, Remus was sitting. Sirius was laying on his back with his eyes closed, his hands behind his head. "Where's James?" asked Remus.

"One guess," answered Sirius, with a yawn.

"Of course, with Lily. And Annabelle?"

"Library," responded Sirius. "And Alice is in the library, and Peter is playing chess with some knob head."

"A Slytherin then," laughed Remus.

"Yes. A fifth year chess genius; I think his name is Chauncy Bates. They play all the time."

"Yes, I've watched them play before. It's like watching paint dry. Did James have any more to say about you sneaking out with Annabelle?" asked Remus, hoping that the two had resolved their tiff.

"Yeah, he said he overreacted. _I'll say_. He's been awfully touchy lately," said Sirius.

"I think he's just trying to adjust to how things are now. What with having a girlfriend, and his own mates finding other people to spend time with… I think you sneaking out with Annabelle made him a bit jealous. I mean, that used to be reserved for just your mates."

"But Annabelle is a mate now, too."

"Don't get me wrong. In fact, I am glad that you and Annabelle are getting along so well. I just think he's a bit torn. Like he loves having a girlfriend, but he misses the way things used to be."

"Well, that's life. You can't have your cake and eat it too," said Sirius, smiling to himself about the house-elf giving Annabelle and him the cake she had made. "I'm not just going to sit around not doing anything worthwhile because James is off with Lily and I don't want to offend him."

"I think he knows that. He just needs to get used to things, so don't take it personally," Remus explained.

"It's hard not to when his insistence on trading lab partners is the reason Annabelle and I are friends in the first place. But I see what you are saying. And honestly, I felt that way at first when he was off with Lily so often in the beginning of the year, like I'd been ditched for a bird, but I actually really like Annabelle now. I'd choose her to be my lab partner, if that makes any sense."

"It makes perfect sense," said Remus.

"James'll be alright," said Sirius. "He always is."

Remus caught sight of Dominica crossing the lawn and heading toward the castle.

"Who is that with Dominica," he asked, squinting his eyes. "Is that Elsinore Collins?"

Sirius glanced in the direction in which Remus was looking. "That's an odd pair. Wonder what they're up to."

"Can't be good, whatever it is," Remus replied.

Sirius just shrugged and closed his eyes, uninterested in what Elsinore was doing with Dominica, even though it did seem rather bizarre that they'd be friends.

Lily and James had just been about to exit their favorite broom closet after a snog fest, when she heard girls' voices approaching from down the hall somewhere.

She quickly shoved James back inside and pulled the door closed, leaving it open a crack so she could see when they had passed. The last thing she wanted was to be caught coming out of a broom closet with a boy. That was something Dominica would do, usually with random boys, not boyfriends, but until Lily was completely sure of James's commitment to her, she wasn't going to lay her reputation on the line.

"Lily, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Shhh, they're coming closer," she whispered nervously. The voices sounded like they were passing round the corner, right past the broom closet.

"So his parents won't be happy if they knew?" She recognized Dominica's voice instantly.

"His parents will go through the roof, believe me. I know these people well," a second, unfamiliar voice replied and then proceeded to cackle like a Bavarian Erkling. Lily carefully peeked out the tiny opening and her jaw dropped. Dominica was walking with Elsinore Collins.

"Why that little traitor!" Lily hissed after they'd passed.

"Who? What just happened Lily?" James asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's nothing to worry about though," She decided not to explain in detail. She knew he wouldn't be interested in their drama with Dominica. "Come on, they're gone. I have to find Annabelle."

Annabelle was on the second level of the library, hard at work trying to get a storage room unlocked.

"Alohamora!" she exclaimed, but nothing happened except the shushing of some nearby students. "Bloody hell," she muttered to herself, "If there are doxies in here after I get this thing open I am quitting this job."

Meanwhile, after parting with James, Lily had asked the librarian where Annabelle might be then quickly made her way up to the second floor, grabbing Alice who had been studying and pulling her along with her. Annabelle, who was easily startled, shrieked when Lily tapped her on the shoulder. Again, the nearby students shushed her.

"Crikey, Annabelle, did you have to scream?" Lily asked.

"Sorry, it's just that I keep thinking this door is going to open to a room full of doxies. I've seen a few of them flying about this week and I am wondering if they are all hiding in there holding this bloody door shut."

Alice smiled and shook her head. "Annabelle, doxies aren't that strong. You may have unlocked it already, but it's still jammed. Have you tried kicking it?"

Annabelle gave the door a hard kick with the bottom of her shoe, and sure enough, the door popped open.

"Now I feel daft," said Annabelle, wondering why she hadn't thought of that. Thankfully there were no doxies in the room.

"Go inside, quick," Lily directed, then closed the door behind them.

"What is the excitement all about," asked Annabelle. "Did James propose or something?"

"Very funny, and no. Gosh no. The reason I dragged you in here is because I thought you both might be interested in knowing that our old pal Dominica is now chumming around with Elsinore Collins. I saw them together today, chatting like old friends."

"No way! I guess it shouldn't surprise us, the way Dominica has been acting, but what could they possibly have in common? Did they say hi to you?" Alice asked.

"No, they didn't even see me. I don't know what they have in common other than they are both jealous cows," responded Lily, who still hadn't forgotten Dominica's remark about James not knowing if he wanted her or not.

"Also, they both loathe our existence," said Annabelle.

"It's unfortunate, but what can we do? We can't tell Dominica who she can be friends with," said Alice.

"I know, but it just struck me as very peculiar. Dominica used to make fun of her. She used called her a 'naff slag.' How ironic, really," said Lily.

"Dominica's really gone to the dogs, hasn't she," said Alice. "What were they doing when you saw them?"

"Talking about some boy whose parents would go mental if they knew. Knew what, I don't know, but there is something vaguely sinister about the two of them suddenly conspiring."

"Like I said, there's nothing we can do to stop them, is there? We will just have to be vigilant," replied Alice.

Annabelle couldn't help but feel very uneasy about this new development. Elsinore never liked any of the Gryffindors, except for Sirius, but only because she was still under the impression that he would realize the error of his ways and return to the dark side. What could she want with Dominica? Annabelle wondered if it all had something to do with what happened with Malachi and his followers. Dominica had laughed when he called Annabelle a mudblood. Lily was right, this new pairing did seem sinister. She wondered if she should just confront Dominica once and for all, and try to sort things out with her so this hostility and her hanging around with the queen of the Slytherins could end. She couldn't possibly know what mess she was getting into with that crowd, but Annabelle felt the need to warn her, because despite everything, Dominica was lost.


	21. The Walls Crumble

**A/N: FYI- I made Regulus the older bro, mainly because Sirius never struck me as the big brother type. His character doesn't play a big part in this fic anyway. _Sensitive material in this chapter -abuse/addiction/neglect/abandonment._  
**

* * *

That weekend was their second Quidditch match, this one against Ravenclaw. Sirius told Annabelle not to underestimate them. They were crafty, but they always played fair so Annabelle could relax a bit, just not too much. They had practiced almost every day, and she felt more ready for this game than the last. She was still insanely nervous though, but at least she didn't vomit beforehand.

The game took three hours, but finally after again dangling off her broom due to a Bludger and a short but intense face-off with the Ravenclaw Seeker, Annabelle caught the Snitch. She was so relieved. Losing to Slytherin was one thing, but if she'd lost again, she would be genuinely humiliated.

The boys on the team were ecstatic. They all hugged Annabelle and rubbed her on the head. Annabelle couldn't deny that being surrounded by gorgeous boys was quite satisfying. She knew that so many other girls would love to be in her position, so she didn't want to do anyone a disservice by downplaying it. And for the few that were jealous and seemed to hate her now, she didn't care at the moment. These were girls that didn't know her or talk to her before, and now they despised her. Jealousy did ugly things to people.

Still, Dominica was different. Dominica had been her friend since first year. Not as close as Lily and Alice, but still, a friend, an ally. Annabelle always admired Dominica's bold, affable personality. She was a social butterfly and had more knowledge of boys than all the sixth year girls combined; knowledge she was always more than willing to share with Annabelle and her friends. It hurt her that Dominica could drop her now, in their sixth year. She continued to try to ignore the situation and not let it get her down.

The following week passed with many of the same routines. But there were new ones now. Meeting Sirius for homework every evening, morning Quidditch practices, and meals with her best friends and the boys of her year became routine as well. Lily and James were going strong. Alice was meeting up with Frank in Hogsmeade at the weekend. Sirius and Annabelle had avoided another detention so that meant they could join their friends this time.

Things were going so well, that she wasn't prepared for the paper that was passed out in Potions lab that Friday, even though it signaled an event that happened every year. It tore her down off her cloud and brought back a pain she thought she had conquered.

Professor Slughorn announced, "Esmeralda is going to pass out flyers to each row. Take one and pass them back, please. For any questions about the information, see your prefects."

Annabelle took the papers as they were handed back to her, pulled one off the top of the stack, and passed the rest behind her. Sirius had received his too, and was reading it.

"Well, this oughta be fun," he said sourly, and turned his paper over on his desk, sitting back and crossing his arms as he always did when he was miffed about something.

Annabelle just stared at it. The top of the paper read: **Family Day in two weeks! Your family is invited to spend the day at Hogwarts!**

Again. Every year she was reminded. Every year she was expected to put on a smile despite being one of the only kids that had no parents. Yes, there were a handful of kids every year whose parents couldn't make it for legitimate reasons, but not Annabelle. She had no one to show up for her. She would have to feel like a fifth wheel tagging along with Lily and her family again. She would know everyone was pitying her, not just for being parentless, but because everyone knew who her grandfather was, and most respected him. That meant a lot of stares and whispers of _"poor pet"_ everywhere she turned.

Of course, as usual, everything that happened after her grandfather passed washed over her so powerfully she almost lost her breath. These were stories that she had only shared with Lily and Alice, and of course Dumbledore and McGonagall, but only because Ms. Pennifold had informed them. Hearing the other kids talk about their families coming, and the activities planned, made Annabelle want to scream. Professor Slughorn dismissed class, and Annabelle immediately crumpled her paper and charged out of the classroom, chucking the paper in the bin on her way. Students in the back of the room stared at her as she stormed off, then at Sirius as he grabbed his belongings and went after her.

It didn't take him long to catch up, climbing the stairs two at a time and falling in step beside her. She was cross, but also had tears in her eyes, that she immediately started wiping away when he approached. He gently took her by the arm and steered her out into the courtyard to avoid the swarms of students filing out of classrooms, and they continued out to the lake.

Once they were away from the castle and the other students, Sirius said, "Talk to me, Annabelle."

She stopped walking abruptly and began to pace a little, her arms crossed over herself, choking back tears. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked across the lake, trying with all her might to compose herself.

"Annabelle, calm down and look at me," he said. She stood still then, and he approached her, taking her by the hand and leading her to some rocks by the water. They sat down, but Annabelle had no plans to tell him about her mother.

"I'm fine, really," she said. "I just need a few moments. It's okay, you can go to Charms. I'm not going to make a swim for it or anything." He didn't laugh.

"Forget Charms. You are obviously not fine. Family Day doesn't usually get people this upset. Just tell me Annabelle. I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

"No, of course you haven't. It's just that Family Day reminds me of the family I don't have. It reminds me that my granddad is gone, and it reminds me of all the awful things that happened after he died."

"What kind of things?"

"Things I'd rather not say. I don't want pity. I hate pity."

"Me too. But honestly, you are scaring me a bit. What happened Annabelle? Please, tell me," he said, the apprehension showing on his face.

"It's not scary really… well it was at the time… but it's more pathetic than anything. It's so pathetic that I just can't talk about it," she said. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

Sirius wanted her to tell him. He hated that she felt the need to keep something from him that affected her so deeply. So he decided to do the thing he dreaded. He was going to tell her about his own demented family. She already knew they didn't get along, but she didn't know the extent of it. He hated to talk about it, probably as much as she hated to tell her own story, but it wasn't fair to expect her to trust him with everything if he refused to say a word about himself. He took a deep breath.

"Alright. You've already told me a bit about your childhood, but I've been pretty quiet about mine."

Annabelle nodded. "That's an understatement," she said morosely.

"Well, just so you know, mine wasn't a bed of roses either. If you're interested, I have a story for you," he said, hoping she wouldn't be.

"_Of course_ I'm interested," she replied.

Of course. He sighed and began. "I don't know if you're aware of this but my parents never come for family day either."

"It never registered, but yeah, I guess I don't recall seeing you with your parents."

"Well, that's because they were pretty upset when I was sorted into Gryffindor. When I had said that my whole family had been sorted into Slytherin, that was the truth. I didn't want to be in Slytherin though. I just thought it was inevitable, and so did my parents. When it didn't happen, they were furious, even though I was elated. I already had a strained relationship with them to start with, but this just sent them straight over the edge."

Annabelle tried to imagine a couple of stuffy, posh wizards getting upset over their wayward son.

"They set up a meeting with Dumbledore, and demanded that I be put into Slytherin instantly. When he refused, because it wasn't up to him, they made him drag out the Sorting Hat again. While he was off digging it out of storage, my parents berated me, telling me I had better not be up to something. I swear, by the grip my father had on my wrist I thought he was trying to squeeze the Gryffindor out of me." He gave a half-hearted chuckle, but Annabelle frowned.

"The hat said Gryffindor before it was even fully on my head. Again, a second time. And again, a third time. Finally, Dumbledore told them that I would stay in Gryffindor and that was final. They threatened to take me out of Hogwarts and put me in Durmstrang, but Dumbledore told them that Durmstrang wasn't accepting anymore foreign students for the year, nor were the vast majority of wizarding schools at this point. It was either let me stay or take me home and homeschool me. My mum couldn't stand the thought of spending all day with me, so she conceded and they left, threatening to ruin his career and all that. No goodbye to me, nothing. Just anger. I was so embarrassed for Dumbledore to know that these were my parents."

"Oh…how dreadful. What did Dumbledore say about it?

"You know Dumbledore. He said something like, 'chin up son, it's only going to get better from here'. I didn't believe him, but he was right, as usual."

"And your parents? Did they ever apologize or at least get over it?" she asked.

"Apologize? My parents? Ha. No, they never got over it. But they did come to Family Day that year. My brother, Regulus, was in his seventh year, but he didn't care one way or the other if they showed up. I thought for sure they had come for me, to patch things over and to make it up to me. I was even a tiny bit happy to see them, because I had envisioned it all in my head. They greeted Regulus with a huge hug at the station, but they ignored me. They didn't even look at me. It was like I wasn't there."

"How cruel," said Annabelle. "You were only eleven."

"That's just the beginning," he continued. "I followed them around all day like a puppy. They never said a word to me. Reg thought it hilarious. Kept smirking at me, but didn't dare speak to me in front of them. During the trip into Hogsmeade, I followed them into a café and they didn't offer to buy me anything. Not even a water, while they all sipped their tea. Professor Slughorn even came up to them to tell them how good I was at Potions. They just smiled and said thank you, but when he walked away, they continued to ignore me. I tried to get up to leave but my father grabbed my arm again; I thought he might squeeze it right off, and spoke the first words to me all day. He said I wasn't to leave and embarrass them, or else."

"Or else what?"

"Good question, but at eleven years old in a new school, in front of new classmates, I wasn't about to find out. When we got back to the castle, I managed to lose them while they were watching Reg play chess. And at dinner, they both sat at the Slytherin table with my brother. I sat at Gryffindor, with James and his parents who were utterly disgusted at how my parents behaved. James's mum wanted to say something to them, and to Dumbledore, but I begged her not to. I didn't want any more trouble."

Annabelle was floored. She knew his parents were not the nicest people, but this was beyond anything she could have imagined. "Sirius, I don't even know what to say," she said. "Do you think Dumbledore knew how they had treated you that day?"

"I think he knew some of it. I knew he felt sorry for me and I hated that feeling," he said bitterly. "I don't want people to treat me differently because of my how my parents are."

"Did they ever tell you why they were ignoring you?"

"No. I mean, I sort of knew, but Regulus confirmed it for me. He told me it was my penchant for, you know… Half-bloods… but not that exact word…."

"Mudbloods," said Annabelle.

Sirius flinched. "Yes, that's the one… and they were struggling with me betraying the family, and that I was disgracing them by being in Gryffindor. They were convinced that I somehow charmed the hat or that Dumbledore had, just to insult them. But I still had to go home at Christmas, and they pretty much just yelled at me and belittled me at every turn. So at least the silent treatment stopped," he said with a wry chuckle.

"And you have to go home for every school break?" asked Annabelle.

"At first I did, but after first year, I would only go home for Christmas. I would spend every summer and most Easters with James and his family. They have been a blessing. And they have told me they want me to come for Christmas too, but my parents won't hear of it. They do it just to spite me. Summers are different, since they're longer and they are glad to be rid of me. But Christmas break is long enough for them to condemn me to their hearts' content without getting tired of my existence. Plus, what would the rest of the family and their friends say if their son went elsewhere for Christmas? People would talk, and they can't have that."

Annabelle shook her head. She was floored at how poorly he had been treated by his parents. "And it was like this your whole life?" she asked.

"Not exactly. They've been worse the last few years ever since that dark wizard Voldemort has been getting more attention. They clearly find his views appealing instead of terrifying; just proof of their utter lack of sense." Annabelle shuddered. Voldemort's political activity had appeared in the Daily Prophet occasionally. Apparently he was a mad wizard with plans to restore the Wizarding World to its former glory, whatever that meant. Her grandfather had died fighting wizards like him, so any time she heard news of this dark wizard she couldn't suppress her anxiety. To think, his parents were on board with his ideology.

"When I was little they weren't so awful to me, because I didn't understand what was going on. They dressed me in silver and green and I wore it, because why wouldn't I? They were just clothes to me. They were never very affectionate. There was never a close bond. We were kind of trophies for them. They showed us off when people were around, but behind closed doors we were just nuisances to them. Regulus dealt with it by trying like crazy to please them, and went along with everything they represented. Can't blame him really, I mean, he just wanted their love. As I got older, I had the opposite reaction. I grew to loathe everything they loved, everything they believed in and stood for… I wanted to be as different as I could possibly be from them, not to anger them necessarily, but because I find their views despicable."

"Well you succeeded. You are nothing like them," said Annabelle.

"Sometimes I wonder about that though. I definitely have my dark moments. Picking on Snape, playing some pretty nasty pranks on other kids…" he trailed off.

"Sirius, you were a child. Playing childish pranks does not make one a dark wizard. Besides, nobody's perfect. Don't get me wrong; you are pretty close to it."

Sirius blushed and said, "Yeah, right."

"No, really. Your parents don't see how truly lucky they are. Here they have a son who is intelligent, athletic, respected, kind-hearted, and they shun you." Sirius's cheeks reddened some more, but Annabelle continued. "It's absurd. You are every parent's dream. So what if you've done some naughty things. Who hasn't? You beat yourself up too much about those things. Really, you do. Snape is a menace. It's not like you were picking on some little innocent. He instigated with you, too."

"That's true, but we were pretty harsh. With him it was just that he went out of his way to stalk us, trying to get us in trouble because James liked the one girl he happened to be obsessed with. And now, he looks down on anyone of mixed blood, but he himself is not a pure-blooded wizard and neither is Lily. It's like he hates himself."

"Maybe he does," said Annabelle. "He's certainly misguided, that's for sure."

"He was so obsessed with her that he couldn't leave her and James alone. But then he calls her mudblood?"

"He didn't even want me to be friends with her," said Annabelle. "I tried to be friendly with him, but he wanted nothing to do with me. He wanted to keep her for himself. How was he planning on getting around her blood status?"

Sirius shook his head in disgust. "Well, he always hated that I was a Black, but that I was in Gryffindor. Like he thought I was committing some crime against the Wizarding race or something."

"I bet he wishes he could trade places with you. He'd probably kill to be a Black," said Annabelle.

"I would love to trade places with him, and I'm sure my parents would appreciate the switch as well, but I bet he'd be begging to switch back once he felt the back of my dad's hand across his face," said Sirius.

Annabelle stared at Sirius, and said slowly, "Your parents hit you?"

Sirius felt like he'd revealed too much. "No pity, remember?"

"Sirius, do they often hit you?"

"No, no… it's just my dad really. My mum has slapped us both across the face a few times for being cheeky, but my father, he's the one with the anger issues. It didn't happen all the time though. Just once in a while, but when he was mad, you felt it. Forget wands, if he wanted to throw you against a wall, it was going to be with his own two hands, if you know what I mean."

Annabelle was horrified. He had been through more than she had ever could have imagined. So much you don't know about people.

"You can't go home for Christmas," she said. "You just can't."

"Don't worry, Annie. Now that I'm older it doesn't happen as often. And besides, if he wants to fight me, this time I plan to fight back," he said ominously. "I'm sixteen now. I don't have to stay. I can leave for good."

"Go home with James… or I have an idea! Stay at the castle. Dumbledore will let you," Annabelle suggested.

"I would love nothing more than to stay here, but I have to do this. They have demanded I be there. I think they want to make one last effort to bring me back to the fold, so to speak. They've been getting information on my comings and goings from that dead from the neck up Malachi and a few others. I know there will be threats, and my mum wailing that I shattered her heart, and my dad calling me a blood traitor. And of course, my spineless brother sitting there agreeing with them. But I have to face them. I have to show them that they can't break me."

Annabelle had a horrifying thought. "Am I a part of the comings and goings being reported?" They had been spending so much time together that anyone might misconstrue things.

"Most likely, Annabelle, but take heart. You are not my first non-pure-blood friend. Remus has been pissing them off for years," he laughed. "And James's parents oppose all the blood purity nonsense, so hanging out with him is just as bad to them. Honestly, there are so few true pure-blood lines in existence anymore. And I'm not marrying some cousin, since that's the only option for pure-bloods nowadays if they want to remain pure. Not only does it make me sick, but it screws up the kids. Just ask my cousin Bellatrix. She's out of her mind."

"I don't want to make things worse for you," she replied.

"I choose who I am friends with, not them," he said firmly.

"Again, I feel like I should tell McGonagall or Dumbledore. I know you don't want to tell them but this is a bad situation…"

Sirius's eyes widened. "No. You mustn't. They will get the authorities involved and it will be an awful mess. No. Let me handle it. I told you, I am of the age where I can leave."

"You won't leave Hogwarts, will you?"

"I doubt it. Dumbledore would give me work to help pay for books and things. If not, I'll find something. My cousin Andy, who already got herself disowned and blasted off the family tree would let me crash with her for a while. But, whatever happens, I'll keep in touch. I mean, we only have one year left anyway after this one."

Annabelle couldn't bear the thought of losing him already. She spent as much time with him as she did with Lily, if not more now that Lily was always off with James. She would be so lonely without him. And to think of him off by himself, trying to make due at his age; it broke her heart.

"But what will you do?"

"Now, now, let's cross that bridge if we come to it, and I doubt we will. Alright? December is a long way off. Now that I've upset you sufficiently with stories about my family, it's your turn. Spill the beans, Annabelle."

"My story is well into the past. Yours is still unfolding and it seems like there can't be anything good to come of it, except you not going back there. Ever."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "That's the plan, okay? Really, I will be fine. I can handle them now, much better than when I was eleven. Trust me."

"I do trust you, it's them…" her voice caught.

"Come on, it's going to be okay. Maybe I shouldn't have told you. Now you are going be turning this over in that pretty head of yours until January," he said. "You just can't tell anyone, Annabelle. Anyone. James, Remus, and Peter already know. But no one else."

_Pretty._ Her cheeks were instantly on fire. But flattery wouldn't change the fact that she was worried about him. She knew if she continued harping on about it he wouldn't tell her anything ever again, so she said, "I'm glad you told me. And I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. Now, out with it. I am tired of hearing about myself," he said.

Annabelle sighed. "I guess fair is fair, right?"

"Right," replied Sirius.

"No pity?" she asked.

"None," he said.

"Okay," she began, "Just before my tenth birthday and before my granddad died, my mum came back around. She had sworn she was trying to get clean. She had moved back to town with her new boyfriend and his kids, all teenagers. She wanted me to come live with her in their tiny flat, but I had no desire to go, and my granddad wasn't about to let it happen anyway. A few weeks later, my granddad was dead. I told you I'd gone to stay with Mrs. Pennifold, but only for a short time because my mum insisted I come live with her and threatened to go to court to get custody. Dumbledore said he hadn't known the depths of her addiction because my grandfather hadn't told him everything, or he would have intervened sooner."

Annabelle paused, gathering her strength to continue. Sirius said sadly, "So you had to go live with her."

Annabelle nodded. "I was a mess. I'd lost the only person I loved in the world, and was suddenly in a filthy place with strangers. All she wanted me there for was to do dishes, pick up after everyone else, and cook, something I didn't even know how to do. But she was so strung out on dope most of the time, or off doing Merlin knows what to get money for drugs, that she didn't notice that there was rarely food in the house to cook. Her boyfriend spent most of the time passed out in their bedroom, and his kids were out til all hours of the night. When they were around, they would torment me. Make messes on purpose, call me names, once the oldest tried to burn the ends of my hair for laughs… but thankfully they weren't around much. I used to go to school hungry and dirty, because the water had been shut off on several occasions. Child welfare paid a visit, but nothing changed. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Pennifold lived nearby and she would check on me whenever she could. Turns out, she was doing it for Dumbledore."

"He didn't get you out immediately? Why?" Sirius demanded.

"He didn't know the extent of the neglect going on, and he still to this day feels bad about that. He had no rights to me then, even though my granddad had put it in his will that Dumbledore would be my guardian. His will wasn't recognized by the muggle authorities once my mum reentered the picture. But he tried to protect me, as did Mrs. Pennifold. She would often wait outside our flat for me to come home from school and whisk me away to her house, where she'd feed me."

"Crikey, Annabelle! Why didn't you just stay there? Would your mum have even realized you were gone?"

"I did start spending a lot more time there actually, and that was where I started showing signs of magic. She said she saw me cause a milk bottle to explode when I thought I'd seen a mouse running behind it. She also caught me absentmindedly making my peas move around my plate without touching them with the fork. Little things, but she knew," explained Annabelle.

"Did she tell you what you were?"

"Not right away. Not until I caught her cooking one day using magic. I had let myself in, because she hadn't heard me knocking. She had utensils flying everywhere. I screamed and they all fell. She told me it was a parlour trick, but I wasn't so sure. The truth came out soon after, because the following week, I'd come home from school to find the flat abandoned. My mum and her family had left. Moved away."

Sirius was horrified. "They moved out and left you behind? Oh, Annabelle."

"No pity, remember?" she asked.

"What did you do?"

"What could I do really? I just went from room to room, calling for them. Looking in closets, under the beds they'd left behind. I thought maybe it was a mean prank. But they were gone. No note, nothing. They'd left most of my belongings untouched, but a lot of my things were at Mrs. Pennifold's because there wasn't room for them at my mum's. And I didn't know it then, but Dumbledore had the things my granddad had kept for me. Things like his invisibility cloak, his broom, his picture albums… so many things that brought me immense comfort when I finally arrived here. At the time though, I thought maybe they had just forgotten me and would return once they realized it, so I sat on the front steps and waited until the sun went down. Then I walked up to Mrs. Pennifold's house and the rest you know. Honestly, I didn't want to live with my mum anyway since I didn't even know her. I had just been worried about what would happen to me with her gone again. I was terrified that if she didn't come back I'd be put in foster care. Dumbledore was already working his magic to make sure that didn't happen, now that he knew what an utter mess I'd been in."

"She never came back then, did she?" he asked.

"No. Never heard from her again. Crazy, right? Drugs will make you do twisted things."

"You must have been so overwhelmed, so absolutely terrified," Sirius said.

"I was. All I wanted was my grandfather back. His passing threw my life into absolute chaos, and I missed him terribly. Knowing that I'd soon be going to the same school my grandfather went to gave me some comfort. Of course, once I arrived here, everything changed. It was all so new and fascinating, and I felt so special to be like my grandfather. So, while my mum abandoning me is an awful, awful story, it had a happy ending. I mean it could be worse. I just wish my Grandfather could be here." Annabelle stopped because it was still painful. Sirius had heard the grief in her voice, and put his arm around her.

She took a deep breath and continued. "Everyone is just so happy to see their families, and I would have been overjoyed for my granddad to see my life here, to meet my friends, to see me playing Quidditch…." She just couldn't hold in her tears anymore. Sirius pulled her into a tight hug.

"I just miss him so much," she cried.

"Oh Annie," Sirius said as he hugged her, stroking her hair. "He'd be so proud of you, that's for sure."

Annabelle pulled back to wipe her eyes. "He would absolutely adore you," she said. "I just know it."

"You don't think he'd mind you hanging out with a member of the Black Family?" Sirius asked self-consciously.

"No, Sirius, no. He didn't judge people based on their name," she replied. "He would have been thrilled that I surrounded myself with such good people, you especially."

"It would have been a great honor to meet him," said Sirius. "You are a lot like him, I think. And from the way you describe him and your devotion to him, it appears he was more than just a world-renowned wizard and champion for justice, but a really good man who loved his granddaughter."

"Yes, he was, and he did. So there you have it. That's my story, and that's why I was so upset. Family Day reminds me of so many painful things, the worst being that my grandfather can't be here, and it just gets old, being the tag-along to Lily's family, even though they are so kind. I just hate being on my own among all those happy families."

"What a pair, we are. I guess we are just going to have to stick close together that day, won't we?" Sirius suggested as they got up and started walking back to the castle, Sirius with his arm around her shoulders, and Annabelle's around his waist. "You won't be alone on that day. You've got me."

"I like that idea. What about James's parents?"

"They'll understand. Besides, I'm thinking they will be more preoccupied with meeting Lily's parents for the first time than wondering where I'm off to."

"You might be right about that," said Annabelle.

"And we have a game against Hufflepuff that day, so that should give you something else to worry about besides Family Day," he teased, making fun of the fact she worried so much about games.

"Very funny," she said. "But true. Do you think the professor noticed we weren't in Charms?"

"Probably, but, who cares if he did. We'll think of something to tell him," he said.

As they were heading into the Great Hall, they heard familiar footsteps quickly and deliberately approaching behind them. As they turned around, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out. "Black and O'Neill! Stop right there!"


	22. Falling Slowly

"Shite," Sirius muttered under his breath as Professor McGonagall approached.

"I just received word from Professor Flitwick that you were both absent from Charms today. Care to explain your whereabouts?" she demanded.

They looked at each other then back at Professor McGonagall, not sure what to say. Annabelle didn't want her to know the truth, that she'd been upset about Family Day, for fear she'd have to talk about it all over again. She didn't want to worry Professor McGonagall either.

"I was feeling sick," she blurted out, "And I needed some fresh air."

"Yeah, and I went to make sure she was okay," Sirius added.

"If you had taken ill for an entire class period, why didn't you see Madame Pomfrey?" she quizzed her.

"Well, because I didn't want to be a bother," Annabelle replied.

"But you're well now, I take it?" McGonagall asked.

"The fresh air did wonders," she answered.

"She's as good as new, Professor," Sirius said confidently.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes and said, "One doesn't have to be skilled in Legilimency to know you are telling tales. Ten points from Gryffindor and instead of going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, your Saturday will be spent dusting the tops of bookshelves in the Library."

"But we missed it last time," Sirius complained.

"And whose fault was that?" she questioned sternly.

"Ours," they both mumbled.

"Skipping classes is not tolerated here and you both know that. I will see you at the library tomorrow after lunch. Bring study materials for when you are finished. Now again, I remind you to be on your best behavior," she said, looking at Annabelle suspiciously. "Good day, Mr. Black and Miss O'Neill."

"Great," muttered Sirius. "James is going to have another tantrum over this."

"It's my fault. Let me go explain the truth to her, she'll understand," Annabelle said, and started to go after her but Sirius caught her arm.

"No Annabelle. You don't have to do that. It was hard enough for you to talk about it once today. She doesn't have to know everything."

"What must she think we were up to?" asked Annabelle.

Sirius grinned devilishly but said nothing. Annabelle was bewildered for a moment, but then it dawned on her what he was implying and said, "Oh. You think? No…. Really?"

"Isn't that what everyone is going to think? Everyone has their minds in the gutter around here," he teased, clearly not bothered by the idea. "Don't worry, we'll set them straight."

"But McGonagall," Annabelle said.

"Her mind is obviously in the gutter, too. You can tell her the truth if you want, but I much prefer her to think that I am leading you astray," he said with a wink, as they headed over to their friends.

Annabelle giggled at the thought of Professor McGonagall with her mind in the gutter.

"What are you two smiling about?" taunted Johnny B. amiably as they approached the table.

"Yes, and why were you two missing from Charms? Hmm?" asked Lily, grinning from ear to ear.

"Bad news, everyone," Sirius announced to the group. James narrowed his eyes, already anticipating what Sirius was about to say. Annabelle sat down and braced herself for the reaction.

"We won't be joining you lot in Hogsmeade tomorrow," he began but James interrupted.

"Again? Bloody hell, what did the two of you get up to now? Wait, don't answer that….Not sure I want to know."

"What is with the dirty minds around here?" Sirius teased lightheartedly, not wanting an argument. "If you give me a chance, I will tell you. Annie was feeling ill in Potions, you know; the fumes and all, and needed some fresh air. I went along to make sure she was alright. Of course, Flitwick ratted us out to Professor McGonagall. She intercepted us at the entrance," he said matter-of-factly, and sat down like it was nothing.

James tossed what was left of his sandwich on his plate. "Unbelievable," he said.

"We didn't get caught on purpose, mate," said Sirius. "We were going to come up with an excuse but McGonagall swooped down before we got the chance."

"Sorry, James," said Annabelle. "It never crossed our minds that we'd get Hogsmeade taken away again."

"Are you sure about that?" he questioned.

Sirius squinted his eyes at James in irritation.

Remus, sensing another argument brewing, said, "Come on, are you suggesting they intentionally tried to get detention? Who is actually that daft?"

"You're right, you're right," James replied, trying very hard not to overreact again. "It's fine. Hogsmeade's dull anyway, so you won't be missing much."

Lily frowned when he said that, since he had spent most of the time with her on their first trip there this year. Neither James nor Lily said much for the rest of the meal.

"How many points did she take from us?" asked Alice.

"Ten," replied Annabelle meekly. "Sorry."

"Oh who cares!" Johnny B. exclaimed. "Ten points is nothing. Now what were you two_ really_ doing during Charms?" Alice gave him her usual kick under the table.

Sirius and Annabelle just smiled and said no more about it. As much as they wanted to be with their friends on Saturday, having detention together didn't strike them as all that miserable.

The next morning was sunny but chilly. Gryffindor Quidditch team had to practice at 7 AM to be off the pitch in time for the morning match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. After the match, lunch was served and when it was through, Sirius and Annabelle waved goodbye to their friends as they headed to Hogsmeade without them again.

McGonagall was waiting for them in the library.

"Wands," she ordered, and they handed them over. "Thank you," she replied curtly and supplied them each a feather duster. "Now. The two of you will be dusting the top of every shelf on the first and second floor. But since I don't think I can trust you together, Miss O'Neill, you will take the first floor, and Mr. Black, you will take the second floor. If one of you finishes before the other, you may use the time to study. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," they chanted drearily.

"Since today is Miss Wigworthy's day off, the library will be closed to students. I am leaving Hagrid in charge of your progress. He will be in shortly to check on you. There is to be no lollygagging around in here, are we clear?" she asked harshly.

Again, they replied, "Yes, Professor McGonagall." She eyed them sternly for a moment before turning and hurrying out of the room to gather the students for their trip.

Once they were sure she was gone, Sirius got to work with the replacement wand while Annabelle stood guard at the door. He managed to get half the second floor done when Annabelle saw Hagrid coming. She alerted Sirius, then climbed up her ladder and pretended to be hard at work. They glanced at each other and he winked mischievously at her from his ladder, feather duster in hand.

"Alright you two, workin' hard are ye?" Hagrid bellowed as he entered the library.

"Sure we are, Hagrid," replied Annabelle.

"Hi, Hagrid," Sirius said.

"What's got into the two o' ye? Don't ye like Hogsmeade anymore? Goodness, I'm beginning to think ye like cleanin' the muggle way more than anything," he jested.

Annabelle didn't like being thought of as a troublemaker by her favourite faculty members. Sirius was used to it, and he didn't care anyway, but she did.

"No, Hagrid," she responded. "This was a misunderstanding, that's all. It won't happen again."

"That's good to know. I'm just goin' to sit here for a moment and read the Prophet. It's nice to have some peace an' quiet. Carry on," he said and he pulled out a chair and made himself comfortable at a study table.

He was staying? Annabelle looked up again at Sirius who gave her sullen shake of the head and went to work, actually dusting. After a half hour, Annabelle's arm started to hurt. She looked over at Hagrid from her perch and saw that he was dozing off. At this rate, he would never leave. Sirius cleared his throat to get her attention and indicated with hand gestures that he wanted her to cough to wake him up.

"A-HEM!" Annabelle coughed, and Hagrid opened his eyes. "Wow, so much dust!" she exclaimed. "It's getting in my lungs," and she cleared her throat dramatically. When she looked up at Sirius he had stopped dusting and was turned away from her, leaning against his ladder. She could tell by the shaking of his shoulders that he was silently laughing, hoping to contain it. Of course, knowing he was laughing made her start laughing, and she looked down at the floor below, trying in vain to breathe and to stop before Hagrid heard her.

"Oh dear," Hagrid said as he stood up. "All this dust can't be good for you. Are ye alright up there, Sirius?"

"Yep, it's just I've got some dust in my eyes I think," he said, still hiding his face and rubbing his eyes.

"Then I think a break is in order. Go on. Get some air. I'm gonna head out fer a bit. Will check up on the two of you later," he said. "I mean it, now. Go on and get out of here fer a bit."

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Annabelle.

"See you later," Sirius called. Hagrid gave a wave as he exited.

"Geez, I never thought he would leave!" Sirius exclaimed as he climbed down from his ladder. "And you with your dust in your lungs! Brilliant idea, but I wasn't expecting that."

Sirius peeked out the door to make sure no one was coming. Then he said, "Let's clean the rest now. He didn't inspect our actual progress, so I doubt he will when he returns. And I am betting he won't be back for quite a while. We do it now, take an extra long break, then come back here and wait for him. When he gets back, we tell him we're done. I really don't think he is that interested in policing us."

"You always make the devious seem so rational," she said to him.

"It's a gift."

Once they were done, they headed outside to the pitch. During practices, the team had been working with Annabelle on advanced techniques for catching the Snitch. She had been getting braver every day, so Sirius thought it was time to teach her how to get to her feet on the broom.

"You mean you want to me to use it like a surf board?" she asked, alarmed at the thought.

"What in the bloody hell is a surfboard, Annie?"

She wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but she tried to describe it to him anyway. "It's a muggle device that they use to… oh nevermind."

He laughed and said, "I'm just teasing you. I do know some things about muggles."

Annabelle tried to glare at him, but it wasn't as easy as it used to be.

"Come on, you can do better than that, I've seen it many times," he teased, glaring back at her.

She couldn't hold the glare any longer and smiled in spite of herself. "Alright, enough mucking about. Let's do this."

"That's the right attitude. Come on then…" And they proceeded to work on this dangerous technique for a half an hour before heading back to the library to wait for Hagrid.

When they opened the library door, a doxy swooped down on them and Annabelle screamed. Sirius ducked and started laughing again, presumably at Annabelle's reaction, but Annabelle could see nothing funny about the horrid little creature. Thankfully it disappeared somewhere in the curtains at the back of the room.

"Might as well get our assignments out of the way," she suggested.

"I suppose we should," he said.

They had managed to get most of their work done, except for their reading assignment, when Hagrid came back.

"Jus sittin' around, I see. Ye must be done then. Am I right?" he asked.

"Yes, Hagrid. The bookshelves are dusted," said Annabelle.

"Well then, do ye have any assignments to work on?" he asked.

"We're almost done with them, but there are doxies in here, and one just tried to bite me," she said.

"And it's awfully cold in here," added Sirius for good measure.

"Those pesky things. They don't mean no harm though, Annabelle. They jus' get frightened when disturbed, is all. But since I can't have you feeling threatened by them, and I don't want you to freeze yerselves, why don't you go on back to Gryffindor Tower and get yer assignments done. I'll close up here."

"Wow, Annabelle, I was impressed by that show of deviousness," said Sirius after they had said goodbye to Hagrid. "Looks like Potions isn't the only thing I am good at teaching you."

"Yes, it was devious, but it wasn't a lie. There are doxies in there," said Annabelle. "And no matter how much he sympathizes with them, I'd rather not be there when one tries to take my face off. And it was really cold, so there."

Sirius shuddered and said, "I am trying to picture a doxy big enough to take your face off."

When they entered the common room, there was a handful of younger students there. They had been being silly but froze when Sirius and Annabelle entered.

"What are you all doing in here?" Sirius asked them. "Put on your coats and get outside while the weather is nice. Practice flying. Do something constructive. Go on. I don't want to see you until after dinner."

"Yes, Sirius," they all said. "See you later, Sirius."

Annabelle shook her head in astonishment as they went scurrying for their coats and shuffled out of the room. Sirius gave each one of them a high five before they disappeared through the portrait hole.

"That's done," he said.

Annabelle was still amazed. "You'd think Merlin himself just walked in the way they reacted to you."

"Didn't you look up to the older students when you were their age? It's nothing, really,"

"Yes, I did look up to them, but I don't think I worshiped them."

"I didn't sound harsh, did I?" he asked.

"No, but a bit bossy, maybe," she jested.

Since they had the room to themselves, they stretched out on the floor in front of the fire facing each other, their arms propped up on pillows, books in hand. Back and forth they went, taking turns reading out loud. Annabelle loved when it was his turn to read. He made a great effort to keep it interesting and she couldn't help but peek over the top of her book to watch his facial expressions as he played all the parts. She was once again reminded of why girls obsessed over him. He was absolutely striking with his dark hair falling around his face and his stormy gray eyes flickering with the firelight. It was getting harder for Annabelle to concentrate on the book with his face this close to hers.

"Your turn," he said as he rolled over onto his back to get comfortable.

"Um, I lost my place," she said.

"Wake up, Annabelle. It's getting good. Page 178, second paragraph."

"I am awake," she assured him.

She took her last turn, and they were finished with the assignment. Her elbows were getting tired so she rolled onto her back. Suddenly she was feeling drowsy. Sirius turned back over, pushed his pillow over so it was next to hers, and propped himself up on his arms again.

"Annabelle, wake up," he said softly.

She opened her eyes, then closed them again. "Just let me close my eyes for five minutes," she said.

He grinned.

"Everyone will be back soon. It's almost dinner."

"Quidditch," she whispered. She was out like a light.

Sirius smiled at her response. Somehow he knew what she meant. He was feeling knackered too from Quidditch practice at seven in the morning, then again during detention. He noticed her cheeks were rosy from the warmth of the fire and for a moment he thought she looked like a painting. As he watched her, he became aware of an unfamiliar feeling in his chest that he had no word for; the closest he could think of was hurt, except it didn't hurt at all, in fact, he liked it. A strand of hair had come loose from her hair slide and he gently brushed it back with his fingers. Then, he shoved his arms under his pillow and rested his head, eventually drifting off himself.


	23. Close Your Eyes

Annabelle heard their voices before she opened her eyes.

"Again?" James asked. "What do they have against beds?"

"Are they alive?" whispered Peter.

"They're sleeping, thicko. Can't you see them breathing?" James admonished.

"If they were any closer they'd be kissing," Johnny B. observed cheekily.

Annabelle opened her eyes to see Sirius's upside down face, his eyes still closed. She sat up abruptly, looked at her friends and said, "Oh my goodness, what time is it?"

Sirius startled at her voice and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Dinnertime. Hagrid told us he sent you here because the library was cold and a doxy tried to attack you," said Remus.

Sirius found this amusing. "It did not try to attack her. It just flew past us." Then he looked at James. "Go ahead with your lecture; you know you have something you want to say." He stood up and offered Annabelle a hand. She took it, stood up, and thanked him.

"Nope. I'm not going to say a word," replied James as he sat down on the couch. "I mean, what is there to say really?"

"What if the underclassmen had seen you sleeping on the floor together?" chided Peter. "Their impressionable minds might be polluted for life."

Remus laughed out loud. "Peter, since when did protecting the impressionable minds of the first and second-years matter to you?"

"Oh, calm down you prudes. Their bodies are facing in the opposite direction and they have their clothes on. It's not like they were having sex," said Johnny B. With that, everyone's jaws dropped. When he noticed they were disturbed by his candidness, he said, "What did I say?"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, but we know that. It's just not every day you walk into the common room to your mates snuggled up on the floor," said James, who didn't appreciate being called a prude.

"Snuggling? Now you're reaching. Look, you can see our books right here," said Annabelle. "We were just reading and dozed off."

"Yeah, dusting shelves is hard work," added Sirius, raising his arms above his head in a stretch. "And by the way, Peter, we aren't the ones polluting the minds of the kids round here. You've been doing an excellent job of it all by yourself with your foul humour."

Annabelle thought they were being ridiculous. "Really, if it had been Lily or Alice and I asleep on the floor, no one would bat an eye. It's a bit unfair to assume that just because we are the opposite gender that there must be something _else_ going on."

"She's right," said Remus. "Stop teasing them and let's get down to dinner."

"Finally, a rational thought from one of you nutters," said Sirius.

During dinner, Annabelle excused herself to retrieve their wands and speak to Professor McGonagall, who was at the head table with all the other teachers. She directed Annabelle to a corner where Annabelle nervously tried to rid her of any false notions.

"I am assuming you came for your wands. Here you are," she said, pulling them from the inside of her robes and handing over both of them.

"Thank you, but that's not all. I actually wanted to speak with you about something," she said hesitantly.

"Alright, out with it then."

"I just wanted you to know that…well, I don't know what you thought Sirius and I were up to yesterday, but…it really was innocent. I promise you," stammered Annabelle.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your opinion of me matters," she replied quietly. "I know Sirius can be irreverent, but he's my friend, and he really was just trying to help me."

McGonagall softened her stance and said, "Oh Annabelle, I don't have a problem with you and Sirius Black being friends. I just don't want you to forget your studies and get off track."

"He's been a great help in that regard, not a hindrance. He's actually been working with me to improve my potions skills, and we do our assignments together almost every night."

"That is encouraging to hear, Annabelle. Just stay on track with your behavior as well. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Alright then, don't fret. Go back and join your classmates."

As Annabelle was heading back to her seat she caught site of Dominica, who was sitting with the seventh-years again. Dominica narrowed her eyes at Annabelle and mouthed the word "slag."

Annabelle froze, and was about to let her have it. Dominica raised her eyebrows, daring Annabelle to explode, probably hoping for a chance to humiliate her. Yet after what she and McGonagall just talked about, she changed her mind. It would have to wait. Annabelle turned away and went back to her seat.

After dinner, James had a captains' meeting, and Sirius and Remus went to watch Peter face off with the Ravenclaw chess champion, Rohan Alder. They had promised him they'd go, because it was important to him, even though neither was thrilled about it. Annabelle, Lily, Alice, and Johnny B. sat round the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, discussing the day's events.

"So, what did I miss in Hogsmeade?" Annabelle asked.

"Oh no," said Johnny B. "Not before you tell us what we missed today."

"This again? You even said yourself that it was clear that we just fell asleep."

"It was, Annie. It just looks like the two of you are getting quite close. Is there something you want to tell us?" asked Lily, unable to conceal her giddiness.

Annabelle replied, "There is nothing going on. We _are_ close, but it's not what you're thinking, really. He treats me like he treats his mates, like a teammate, you know?"

"Does he curl up in front of the fire with other teammates, because if so, sign me up!" Johnny B. exclaimed.

They erupted in giggles, including Annabelle, who wished she could get them off the subject of Sirius.

"He's got a point, you know. You are the only teammate with whom he naps regularly," said Alice.

"If by regularly you mean twice then I suppose you are right," said Annabelle.

"Do you like him?" asked Lily.

"Of course I like him. I like all of you, too," deflected Annabelle.

In typical Johnny B. fashion, he said, "Just admit you want to snog his lips off."

"And sound like every other Quidditch groupie at Hogwarts? No, thank you."

"You have already shown you aren't like every other groupie. You are a Seeker, or did that slip your memory?" asked Alice. "He already holds you in a higher regard than most people."

"So you are saying he only likes me for my Quidditch skills?"

"No, not at all. But he has gotten to know you better because of them," said Alice.

Annabelle was getting uncomfortable with all the pressure. She acknowledged to herself that it was it was a different kind of friendship than the ones she was used to, but she refused to let herself get carried away. Just because he was one of her dearest friends now and called her pretty didn't mean he was in love with her.

"Let's change the subject please? I want to know what happened in Hogsmeade," begged Annabelle.

"Not much," Lily said sullenly.

Alice spoke for Lily. "James decided to go off to the Three Broomsticks with Peter and Remus without Lily. You could tell Remus felt bad about it, but James was acting strange."

"I was already in there with Fairfax and Caradoc," said Johnny B. "He wasn't behaving badly or anything. It was pretty tame in general since Madame Rosmerta won't serve us anything but Butterbeer. I just think he wanted to hang out with his mates."

"But he didn't have to be so rude about it! He just decided on the spot to take off," Lily said to him, then she turned to Annabelle. "Alice told me to stay with her and Frank, but I feel awful that I ruined their day together. I almost just came back to the castle on my own."

"You didn't ruin my day, Lil," said Alice.

Annabelle felt awful for Lily. James pursued her relentlessly, but as soon as he won her over, he retreated. Annabelle really believed he just wasn't ready for a relationship, yet Lily just kept giving him chance after chance. It was maddening to witness.

As for James, he had been acting strange lately. Even on the pitch he was quick to become cross. He was on edge, getting worked up over minor issues. That was never more apparent than when he was berating Sirius for getting into trouble with Annabelle.

"Do you want to know what I think?" asked Annabelle. "I think he's struggling with growing up and everything that comes with it."

Lily looked confused, but intrigued at the same time.

"He sees now that getting the girl and being in a relationship isn't just a lark, but a commitment. There's responsibility involved when dealing with someone else's heart. And I think it scares the shite out of him," Annabelle said.

"You don't think it's me that is driving him away?" Lily asked, fresh tears in her eyes.

They all responded at once with a resounding NO.

Annabelle put her arm around her and said, "He adores you, Lily, but he's just not quite sure how to reconcile his feelings for you with the kid inside of him. I've told you a million times, he needs to figure things out."

"And since no one else will say it, I will," said Johnny B. "You should break up with him and show him that he can't keep you on a string while he figures himself out. You need to respect yourself, like you used to before James came flying back into your life." Nobody could argue with that logic.

"How do you all know so much, and I feel like I know so little?" Lily asked.

"Because you're in it, Lily. It's hard to see the forest for the trees sometimes," replied Alice.

"Maybe you're right. I have a lot to think about," said Lily. "And some decisions to make."

"We're here for you," assured Annabelle, and she hugged her best friend tightly.

After a bit, Lily went upstairs to do her assignments and Alice followed to write Frank a letter. Annabelle got up to go too, but Johnny B. stopped her.

"Hold on a mo," he said. "I'm not done with you. Come sit next to me."

Here we go again. Will they never quit she thought to herself.

"Is that all? You just want me to sit next to you? Yes, please." She wasn't entirely joking. He was easily one of her favorite people at Hogwarts; he had been friendly with her since day one, and she loved him even more when he found the courage to come out. No one had been surprised either, except Lorelei, who seemed to inhabit another universe from the rest of them. He was so good at Quidditch and such an all-around great person, that his teammates didn't bat an eye, and why should they? Playing sports has nothing to do with what you do with your love life.

"Flattery will get you nowhere right now, Annie" he chided.

"Fine. What is it now?" she asked in exasperation.

"You know that sage wisdom Alice just imparted to our Lily? The part about not seeing the forest for the trees?"

Annabelle nodded, wondering where this could be leading.

"That applies to you, too. Sirius fancies you, and I mean he is _into_ you. You don't see it, because you are wallowing in your own insecurities. In fact, you are more like James than you might like to admit. Scared, you are. Scared of falling in love, and maybe scared to have someone love you."

"Did Sirius actually tell you he fancies me?" Annabelle challenged.

"He doesn't have to."

"Didn't think so. Here's the thing, Johnny, unless he actually said these things to you, this discussion is over. But thanks for the therapy session, Dr. Bemis."

She made a move to get up, but Johnny B. touched her arm and said, "What if I could get him to admit it? Would you discuss it then?"

Annabelle stiffened. "Johnny B., don't you dare say anything to him. Don't! Please!" she almost shrieked.

"Okay, Annie I won't. Calm down and breathe. Geez, girls and their overreactions."

Annabelle exhaled and relaxed slightly.

"Just one more question," he said. "Last one."

"Go ahead."

"Do me a favour? I want you to close your eyes and really visualize what I am telling you." Annabelle sighed, but complied with his instructions. "Here we go. You are walking past the fifth floor broom closet and you see Sirius exiting with a girl. How do you feel when you see them?"

"Depends who it is, I suppose," she answered casually, not really picturing it.

"Fine. It's Alice."

Annabelle laughed and said, "I'd feel really surprised since she has a boyfriend."

"Okay. It's Elsinore Collins."

"I'd feel disappointed that he gave in to her, but I don't think I'd be shocked."

"Annabelle! How could you think he would go for her? Forget it, don't answer. One more... Dominica."

This time, the image took shape in her mind instantly; Sirius with his bright smile, holding Dominica's hand as he led her out of the closet, their hair a mess and their clothing untucked. Annabelle wished she could unsee it, and had to remind herself that it wasn't real.

"So how do you feel?" Johnny B. asked.

She responded before she thought not to. "Sick to my stomach."

"I knew you fancied him." Johnny B. got up and gave her a pat on the head. "Good night my darling. We have practice tomorrow so get some sleep."

"Johnny, but she's…Wait… But she's…" Annabelle began, but he just smiled, waved, and went to his dorm.

Annabelle let the conversation with Johnny B. sink in. Despite what she said, if she saw Sirius come out of a broom closet with any girl, she'd be gutted. But that didn't mean she fancied him, she tried to convince herself. It could just mean she was possessive of her friend, and she would just have to get over it. Or was Johnny B. right and she was just afraid of her own feelings? Before she could dwell on it anymore, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came through the portrait hole.

"Hey, Annie, did you miss us?" Sirius asked, flashing that smile she had grown to adore. Thankfully he didn't wait for a response, because when she thought about it, either answer to that question would have been awkward. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

"I was chatting with Johnny B. You just missed him. I think I'm going to turn in too," she said as she stood up. She wasn't sure but she thought she detected a hint of disappointment in his expression. "Did you win your chess match, Peter?"

"Of course," he said proudly. Normally she would have thought he sounded arrogant, but she was starting to find him sort of endearing in an annoying way. He was always trying so hard to keep up with his friends; she couldn't begrudge him his chess victory.

"Congratulations, then."

They said their goodnights, and she went up to the dorm, her mind racing with everything that happened that day.

After she was gone, Peter went bounding up the stairs to find a place for his trophy. Sirius and Remus followed, smiling at his enthusiasm.

Just then, James entered the room. He kicked off his shoes and fell onto his bed. "I'm knackered," he declared.

"Peter won the chess match tonight," said Remus, knowing James's respect meant a lot to Peter.

"Yep, he crushed that Ravenclaw chess champ," said Sirius. "I think we may have a chess prodigy in Gryffindor House."

James looked at Peter who was standing proudly next to his night table where the gleaming trophy was displayed.

"Oh, wow, that's brilliant, mate!" James exclaimed. "Good one!"

"Thanks, mate." Peter couldn't hide his smile, even though he was trying to be cool about it.

"I think I'm going to sleep early tonight. This was a long day, unless you all feel like sneaking out," James suggested.

"What? Not sneaking out with Lily for a snogfest?" asked Sirius cheekily.

"No. I think she might be sleeping already."

"You know, I think I'll take a pass on sneaking out tonight. I'm well knackered, too. Maybe next weekend, though. Merlin knows I'm going to need it after bloody Family Day," Sirius said as he pulled off his sweatshirt.

"Yeah, I need to finish the reading assignment for tomorrow," said Remus.

Peter was too busy adjusting the position of his trophy to answer.

James thought about pointing out how dull they were being, but he figured it wouldn't change their minds. He wasn't sure why he was so keen on the idea of sneaking out anyway, considering he was exhausted.

"Next weekend, then," he said.

"We should take the girls along," said Sirius. "They've never been to Moore's."

"Do you think they'd be up for going out?" James asked skeptically, secretly wishing the girls would stay behind so it could be like old times.

"No," Peter blurted. "I think they'd only go along so they could babysit us."

"Of course they'd want to join us," said Sirius, ignoring Peter's absurd comment. It just seemed natural to him that they would go too now, considering how they were all friends. Besides, it would be more fun with them there.

"I think they'd be a lot of fun to have along," offered Remus.

"Have you considered the logistics of sneaking out with that many people and only one map?" James countered.

"We can go in two separate groups. You can take the map. I'm feeling daring these days," Sirius said.

"That means we are letting them see the map? Because I don't think that's a good idea," said Peter.

"We don't have to, or we can tell them it's just a map we made to show us if any staff members are out and about. They don't need to know the details. Besides, I think they can keep a secret," said Remus, and Sirius nodded in agreement.

James knew he wasn't going to win this one. Maybe they were right, maybe it would be fun. Then again, he just hoped they wouldn't get caught.

* * *

**A/N: For the readers that have been following along, a lot happens in the next chapter... ;)  
**


	24. Fields of Athenry

**A/N: Disclaimer- I don't condone underage drinking, or getting drunk at any age. It pretty much just makes you act foul and disgusting and the consequences can be fatal.**

* * *

The following week felt interminable to Annabelle. She found herself to be extremely distracted by everything that was going on; the upcoming Quidditch match which just happened to be on the morning of Family Day, the drama with Dominica, Lily's issues with James, and of course, her conversation with Johnny B. By the end of the week she wasn't sure if she was coming or going. The highlight of the week, in her opinion, was that she and Sirius had detected that Remus had a crush on a shy, dark-haired and doe-eyed fifth year Ravenclaw named Claire Shaw. He hadn't admitted it yet, but it was obvious by the way he couldn't take his eyes off her whenever she was near.

Once Family Day arrived, Annabelle had been too worried about the Quidditch match to focus on her sorrows. Hufflepuff had strong players. The only hope she clung to was that their fifth-year Seeker, Milo Knight, wasn't quite as strong as the rest of the team. She wouldn't underestimate him though, because they had already won a game this year thanks to that very Seeker. On top of all that, the stands would be extra packed with families, and it snowed that morning. Annabelle had never played in anything but bright, warm sunshine, and the prospect of flying through the cold air for hours didn't appeal to her at all.

Gryffindor was on fire though, with James, Johnny B. and even clumsy third-year, Rory Finnegan scoring like crazy and making the crowd go wild. Sirius hardly missed a Quaffle, doing all kinds of dangerous moves to block them. The Bludgers didn't stand a chance against Fairfax and Caradoc. It was amazing to watch, as Annabelle had found herself doing a few times before reminding herself to focus. She had only seen the Snitch once, but before she could make a move for it, she lost sight of it. It wasn't until about an hour and half into the game that she caught sight of it again.

Milo had also seen it, and Annabelle found herself in a wild chase with him. She tried to grab for it several times, but it was always just out of reach. At one point, she heard Fairfax shout, "Stand on your broom!" as she whizzed by, but she couldn't. She was terrified to try it. Milo was not, though, as he demonstrated when he agilely got to his feet and leaned over to grab the Snitch. Annabelle could taste the defeat before it even happened, until a Bludger came from behind and rammed into Milo's back, causing him to fall, just before making contact with it. Her first reaction was to look to see if he was okay, but then she heard Sirius yell, "He's fine! Go go go!" A few seconds later, she had the Snitch. Gryffindor hadn't just beaten Hufflepuff, they had buried them.

Annabelle still felt like she'd failed them though. She had been so unfocused and detached from it, while they had put their hearts and souls into it. She only caught the Snitch because Milo was hit by a Bludger.

"So what, Annabelle? That's how the bloody game works!" exclaimed Caradoc, after she expressed her feelings out loud. "And, for feck's sake, you don't have to check on the opposing players when they get hit. Getting hit is part of the game!"

"Sorry," she said meekly. "I just thought he might need help."

"All's fair in love and Quidditch," said Fairfax. "You did great out there. Stop second guessing yourself."

After the match they went to clean up and join in on the Family Day festivities. Annabelle and Sirius made sure to say hello to the Evans family and the Potters, but Sirius stayed true to his word and didn't leave her side once.

"Lily's parents are lovely, but that Petunia is a nasty piece of work, isn't she?" observed Sirius.

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so," said Annabelle, who was not surprised when Petunia didn't say hello. "James's parents were wonderful. It's clear that they think of you as one of their own."

"Yeah, they're great people. Still, it's not the same is it?"

"Definitely not."

At dinner, Sirius and Annabelle found it awkward to be sitting with Lily, James, and their parents. It was obvious that Lily and James felt uncomfortable and anxious about it, and that they couldn't wait for the day to be over, even though their parents were getting along brilliantly.

After the families had all departed, the students retreated to their various common rooms for the night. Lily, Alice, and Remus were lounging on the couch, Peter and James were seated in the big chairs and Sirius and Annabelle were on the floor, seeing who could make tiny pieces of fuzz from the rug levitate longer, when James said in a hushed tone, "Who's up for an adventure?"

The boys had waited until now to invite them to the pub so they wouldn't have a chance to back out at the last minute, or as only Peter feared, a chance to rat them out.

"What kind of adventure," Annabelle asked, not taking her eyes or her wand from her piece of fuzz.

Sirius replied, "A visit to a pub, one town over. It's open really late; until two in the morning."

"It's in the muggle town of Straiton. Never saw a staff member there yet, plus they don't check IDs," James said. "Fairfax, Johnny B. and Caradoc already left. They managed to escape in the crowd of parents. They're meeting some former teammates there."

"No, I think I'm too tired," she said. She was being honest, but she also didn't want to get caught.

"That's understandable," replied Sirius, who was disappointed in her response but not about to pressure her into going.

Lily said, "Hey Annabelle, come on, let's all go. Now's our chance to see if we've been missing out on anything or not."

"What if we get caught? We'll be in so much trouble," warned Annabelle.

"We've never been caught yet," Peter said. "Don't ruin our record."

"We don't have any muggle money, so..." Alice replied.

James shook his head and sighed. "You are such amateurs. It's called Transfiguration, Alice."

"It's called theft," she retorted.

"Don't worry about it. We've already got it covered," James said.

"We're in," said Lily.

"She is good at getting what she wants, huh?" Sirius said quietly to Annabelle.

"What can I say? I have a bit of a soft spot for her," said Annabelle. "But, really, what if we get caught?"

"Dumbledore ties us up in the dungeons and leaves us without food, drink, or toilet for a week," he said dramatically.

Annabelle shook her head, still concentrating on her tiny fuzzball. "I can't believe that I am going to do this."

"You worry too much," he said. "Stay with us, and you won't get caught. We've been sneaking out of the castle for years." Then he exclaimed, "Yesss! I won!" after Annabelle's fuzz dropped to the floor.

"You are so competitive," she said, laughing.

"Really, you are levitating lint? And people think I am the strange one," said Peter.

They decided to leave in shifts just after 10 PM, via a secret passage behind a mirror on the fourth floor that only they and a few trusted members of the Quidditch team knew about. The passage led to the Green Banshee, which was a slightly dodgy, but popular establishment on the edge of Hogsmeade. It was always so packed on the weekend that no one would notice them coming up the stairs from the basement and exiting. Professors were not known to patronize the place, as it was a younger, edgier Wizarding crowd, so it was safe to say they wouldn't know anyone there. Still, being underage and the possibility of running into someone that would identify them as Hogwarts students had caused the boys to seek out another venue for their entertainment.

The plan was to go by Portkey, which they had illegally created last winter, to the outskirts of the small village of Straiton, and head over to Moore's Public House, where they felt assured that they wouldn't be found out and they could blend in. Just before lights out, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter advised the girls again.

"Listen. You mustn't make a peep in the halls, and you must swear that you will never give away this passage to anyone," said James.

"Yeah, not even McGonagall or Dumbledore," Peter sneered, looking directly at Annabelle.

"We aren't going to say a word," said Lily, irritated by Peter. "We'd be awfully daft to tell about it since we are going to be using it ourselves."

"Okay," said James. "No one leaves anyone alone; no one goes off with any strangers. You never know what shady characters could be lurking. Don't even go to the loo by yourselves."

"Are you sure this is supposed to be fun?" asked Annabelle.

Sirius laughed and said, "It is fun Annabelle, as long as we all stick together. It's just a safeguard, that's all."

"Remember," said James, "10:15 will be Sirius, Remus, Annabelle, and Alice. Then Lily, Peter, and myself at 10:25. Try to stay awake."

"Yeah or we will leave without you," warned Peter.

The girls had gotten dressed and ready to go out by hiding in the showers stalls and covering with bathrobes when they were done so the others girls wouldn't know what they were up to. It was hard for Annabelle not to fall asleep. Just when she was drifting off, Alice pulled her up by the arm, and two girls tiptoed down the stairs where Sirius and Remus were waiting. They didn't waste a second, and no one said a word. They stepped out of the portrait hole one by one, and scurried like mice to the fourth floor. They thought they heard a noise at one point and hid behind some pillars and a statue, but after a moment, they continued on. They made it to the mirror. Remus went in first, leading Alice second, then Annabelle, and finally Sirius. The tunnel was pitch dark and damp, but once they were inside several feet, Remus lit his wand and they could see the path much better.

"How much longer?" Alice whispered.

Remus shushed her and said, "A bit."

After about ten minutes, they made it to the Green Banshee, shimmied up the stairs, and worked their way through the crowd to the door. The girls then followed the boys up the main road out of Hogsmeade, crossing over into the woods where there was a stone with one red dot painted on it. This was the portkey, and upon touching it, they were transported to a field behind an abandoned, broken down barn on the edge of a village. They walked casually down the main road, and after a few blocks, made a right into Moore's Pub, a beacon in the frosty autumn night.

The place was medium-sized, with a large square bar, and seats along the walls. At the far end was a small stage, with a band playing upbeat folksy music, and quite a few people dancing and singing along in front. The windows were steamed up from the warmth of all the people inside and candles dotted the tables. They spotted Johnny B. at the bar.

"Hey! You made it!" exclaimed Johnny B. "Can we get you something? A drink perhaps?" Annabelle and Alice looked at each other apprehensively, as neither knew what to order at a pub.

All of a sudden they heard Caradoc howl for the band from the middle of the room, Fairfax and two other young men right beside him. They had a few muggle girls hanging on them already.

"I see why you guys come here," said Alice with a wink. "To pull."

"That is not true," said Remus. "We are not all here for that, because it's usually older women that don't give us the time of day. Plus, we have to be careful when mingling with muggles. Caradoc takes far more chances than he should actually."

"Right," said Alice sarcastically.

"Do you want a drink, or not?" asked Remus, getting annoyed.

"Lemonade," said Alice.

"I'll have the same," said Annabelle.

"Nothing stronger?" Johnny B. asked.

"Maybe later," said Annabelle. Getting caught sneaking back into the castle would be awful enough, but getting caught drunk too? It was too terrible to consider.

The boys had ordered stout, which Annabelle only recognized because her grandfather used to drink it on the rare occasions that she saw him drinking at all. She instantly felt nostalgic for him.

Just then, James, Lily, and Peter arrived. The girls were a bit paralyzed by their surroundings. It was exciting, being in crowded pub late at night with the boys, but they weren't quite sure of themselves, so they stayed close together. Fairfax, Caradoc, and their old teammates that had graduated a year before joined them at the bar and a mini-Quidditch team reunion took place.

"Merlin's Ghost! Can you believe we are hanging out in a pub with Connor and Gavin?" squealed Lily excitedly.

Annabelle eyed the former students that she would know anywhere, but who wouldn't know Annabelle if she fell off her broom and landed on them.

"We aren't with them, Lily. Try to relax. I don't think I want to see James get jealous," said Alice.

"Why not?" replied Lily with a wink.

"Now who is immature?" asked Alice.

"Oh, I'm just teasing," Lily replied. "But gosh are they gorgeous or what?"

Sirius pulled Annabelle over and said, "Not sure if you've met her before, but here's Gryffindor's newest Quidditch player, Annabelle O'Neill. Annie, this is Connor Fawley, our former Captain."

He held his hand out to her and she took it. "Nice to meet you," she said shyly.

Annabelle remembered Connor. He was tall, muscular, with light brown hair and hazel eyes that sparkled. Annabelle always thought he had pretty eyes. She especially remembered him throwing a punch at Lucius Malfoy after a game lost to Slytherin in her second year, his fourth. She had been afraid of him then, but to see him now, and after what Caradoc had done to Otto, he was no longer scary, since it was apparently par for the course.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied genteelly, then he motioned to another young wizard. "This lad here is your predecessor."

"Gavin Travers, nice to meet you. I hear you are a smashing Seeker," he said, smoothly. Gavin Travers was another former Hogwarts heartthrob. With puppy dog eyes, swirly brown hair, and a strong build, girls who didn't even know him cried when he graduated. He was so popular though, and ahead of her in years, that Annabelle never gave him much thought. He was like a celebrity. She thought he was attractive, but knew she was never going to be on his radar. She couldn't remember him ever looking at her even, yet here he was, holding out his hand to her.

"I don't know about that," said Annabelle uncomfortably. She really wished she wasn't so socially awkward.

"She's also too modest," said Sirius, putting an arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze.

"And this is Alice and Lily," said Annabelle, motioning them forward in an attempt to take the attention off herself.

"Pleased to meet you both. Hope these blokes are behaving themselves with you ladies," Gavin said. His voice was smooth as butter.

Lily glowed as usual, and Alice seemed utterly unfazed. Annabelle just wanted to find a place to sit down in order to avoid embarrassing herself, but then Caradoc called out, "SHOTS!" Fairfax started counting, including the girls in the tally.

"Twelve shots of whiskey, coming right up!" Fairfax bellowed.

"Lily, we aren't going to drink whiskey, are we?" Annabelle whispered.

"Come on Annabelle, it's only one shot. Look around you. You are surrounded by the hottest members of the Gryffindor team, past and present. I think we need to celebrate that fact!" Lily replied. "Alice, are you going to do one?"

"Sure," she said. "But only one. Then I am sticking to water."

"I'm not sure if I should do one," Annabelle whispered. She was thinking of her mother, who was about the same age when she started dabbling in substance abuse, which inevitably consumed her. It suddenly dawned on Lily why she was hesitant.

"You are not your mother, Annabelle," Lily whispered back. "One shot of whiskey isn't going to change who you are. But if you don't want to do it, don't do it. No one here will judge you, and since when do you care what others think of you?"

Fairfax brought the tray of whiskey shots around so that they could each take one. Annabelle took one and Fairfax moved on to Lily.

Sirius saw the apprehension on her face and he also remembered her mum's addiction. He whispered to her, "You absolutely do not have to do it if you don't feel comfortable. No peer pressure from me, understood?"

"What's one shot going to do to me?" she asked.

"Probably not much, but it will burn going down," he answered.

James raised his glass, and everyone followed his lead.

"Here's to friends, old and new. Cheers!" Everyone clinked their glasses together and downed their shots in one gulp, including Alice. Everyone except Annabelle.

Instead, she hesitantly took one sip and almost choked. "You're not supposed to sip it, Annabelle," James pestered. So she forced herself to finish it. It hurt going down.

Sirius touched her arm and said, "Are you alright?

She nodded, while rubbing her throat, and said hoarsely, "If that is what regular whiskey feels like, I think I will steer clear of Firewhiskey forever."

He laughed, and said, "Probably a wise decision. I told you it burns."

Johnny B. came up behind her, already acting a little loopier than usual, and yelled over the music, "Come on! Let's dance!"

Sirius smiled at her, and said, "You go on, have some fun."

The girls followed Johnny B. out to the dance floor, which was almost too crowded to dance. The music was folksy and Celtic, very upbeat and a lot people were singing along. Annabelle was familiar with a lot of the songs since her grandfather was originally from Belfast and traditional folk music had been part of her upbringing. She was suddenly feeling more at home in this warm, candlelit place. The girls and Johnny B. were eventually joined by Remus.

Next thing she knew, Caradoc was back with more shots, passing them over their heads and into their hands. "No, no more, Caradoc, not for me," she said, but Caradoc, who was clearly intoxicated, insisted.

"Now Annabelle, I want you to have this shot from me, to show you my gratitude. You will hurt my feelings if you don't," he slurred, making an exaggerated sad face.

"That made no sense," she replied.

"I'm doing it," declared Lily, who seemed to be on a mission to prove something. She downed the shot.

Alice, who seemed a million miles away, did the shot despite saying earlier that one was her limit. Annabelle looked around. Sirius and the others at the bar were all doing another shot. She was the only one being a worrywart.

"Come on, Annabelle, for me?" Caradoc begged, making the funniest sad-face she'd ever seen.

"This is definitely peer pressure, you know," she admonished him. She took a breath and did the shot. After the burn faded, she shuddered, and croaked, "No more whiskey, I mean it. It tastes awful." She shuddered again.

Now she was feeling the effect of the liquor. She felt slightly lightheaded and silly.

Johnny B. whispered to Annabelle, "Isn't the lead singer hot? I'm in love with him. Too bad he's straight!"

Annabelle checked him out. Hot wasn't the word she'd choose, but he was attractive, albeit a bit older than they were. Johnny B. was always falling in love. She wished that he could find someone special, to fend off the girls that were always staring at him dreamily, even though they didn't stand a chance.

"What about me, Johnny B.?" she asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Aww, Annie, if I was straight, you'd be my number one!" he told her, and gave her a squeeze.

"I'd better be!" She was always telling him this, and he loved her for it.

Annabelle, Lily, and Johnny B. resumed their dancing, if you could call it that. Hopping like clumsy Irish dancers, linking arms and whirling around, and just generally being silly. Annabelle was singing along loudly and off-key to songs she recognized. Remus had wandered over to the edge of the dance floor to watch, and Alice joined him. She had been saying how much she missed Frank. Apparently the alcohol was making her sad about it and she didn't feel like goofing around.

Next thing she knew, Caradoc was back with more shots for them. "Blimey, Caradoc! I said none for me!" Annabelle exclaimed as he handed her one.

"You said no more whiskey. You didn't say nothing about vodka!" Caradoc roared over the music. "Do it for me, Annie! It's my apology for being a knobhead before!"

"That is long forgotten," replied Annabelle. "This really is the last one!"

The vodka was just as bad as the whiskey. This was her third shot in about a half hour and she was starting to feel dizzy. She looked over at Remus and Alice. Caradoc gave them both a shot, which Alice promptly drank. Remus set his on the windowsill, untouched. He looked anxious.

Soon Sirius and James joined them. Lily, who was feeling rather bold, asked, "Where did Connor and Gavin go? I was hoping to have a dance with them."

James wasn't impressed. He looked at Sirius, who said, "They had to go meet some mates in Hogsmeade."

"That's too bad," said Lily, ignoring James, who hadn't even bothered to introduce her to them as his girlfriend. He decided to go back to the bar with Fairfax.

Annabelle pointed her finger unsteadily at Sirius and said, "Tell Caradoc no more shots. I can't feel my face."

"He's been buying you shots, huh? That git," he replied. But then he burst out laughing. "I can't feel my face she says!" Annabelle couldn't help but laugh, too. They had both had a bit too much.

She wondered why Remus was being such a party pooper. He just stood there against the wall, looking rather concerned. Alice was resting her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. Caradoc had tried to persuade them to join them on the dance floor, but they just shook their heads no.

Just then, the band began to play "I'm a Rover." It was a rather dirty song she realized now, but it was so bouncy and fun that the place went crazy. Sirius joined in on the wild dancing, linking arms with Annabelle and then Lily, twirling them around the dance floor as they laughed and laughed. Next thing they knew, Caradoc had come up behind Lily and swung her around, and she squealed in delight.

While they were all dancing, James was at the bar with the Fairfax, brooding. Lily had barely paid any attention to him since they'd gotten there. He figured out that she was doing it to punish him for ditching her in Hogsmeade the Saturday before, but it still bothered him. He was also drinking way too much.

Soon, the band began to play a slow song. It was a pretty Irish folk ballad called "Fields of Athenry" about a man that unjustly goes to prison and his wife cries for him. Annabelle had heard it before, but never played quite as slowly as this. It made it that much more poignant.

"They always play this gloomy song," said Sirius, as people were hooking up with partners and slow dancing to it. She saw Lily accept an offer from Caradoc to dance, while Johnny B. persuaded Alice to dance with him. Remus had found a seat and was trying to keep his eyes open, until a young muggle woman asked him to dance.

"Why would anyone want to slow dance to such a sad song?" she asked Sirius, the room spinning a little. She started to stumble sideways and he caught her in his arms.

"Because they're drunk," he replied. "And why not? It's still a love song."

"I suppose you're right," she said, becoming aware that he had his arm wrapped around her waist and they were beginning to sway to the music themselves. His left hand gently grasped her right hand and he held it against his chest. She had her other hand on his shoulder, but he let her go for a second to guide her arms up around his neck. Then he wrapped his arms around her again, holding her tightly against him.

She was feeling tipsy, but she wasn't sure if it was the drink or being in Sirius's arms like this that was causing it. She didn't care. She felt his hands caressing her back and she pressed her face into his neck. He was tall, so he had to bend slightly, but she felt his lips brush momentarily against her jawline. A tingling sensation ignited her skin. She didn't want it to end, whatever was happening.

Sirius wasn't sure what was happening either; all he knew was that he wanted to hold her. Feeling her warm body against his made him feel even more light-headed than he already was. And that feeling was back in his chest, that urging, and he squeezed her closer. He felt her fingers as they danced over his neck, through his hair, over the back of his head. It was like there was no one else in the world, just them. He moved his head to see her face, his forehead pressed against hers, prompting her to look into his eyes.

"Annabelle?" he breathed, as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. She felt his lips brush against her lips. They were soft.

He didn't need to ask the question. "Yes," she affirmed in a whisper, her eyes half-closed. "A thousand times, yes."

Again, his lips brushed against hers, this time they were parted slightly, and she followed his lead, parting her own lips as he kissed her. It was gentle at first, and slow, but as he hugged her body to him, the kiss became more fervent.

Suddenly, there was loud crashing noise and a scream that jolted them out of their trance, transporting them back to earth. They looked to see Caradoc on the floor and James on top of him slugging him in the face, while Lily screamed, "Stop it! It was just dancing! Stop, please! You will kill him!"

Instantly, Sirius rushed to stop him, as Annabelle pushed her way over to Lily in an attempt to keep her from the fray. Fairfax, Johnny B., and Remus ran over to help Sirius pull James off Caradoc. Once they succeeded, Fairfax hauled a cursing and swinging Caradoc away. The bouncer came over and gave them all the boot, and Sirius and Remus steered James through the crowd. Annabelle followed with Alice and a very distraught Lily. Peter, who was enthusiastically snogging an older muggle woman in the back of the pub, had been oblivious to the whole thing. Sirius reached out and gave him a smack on the back of the head to get his attention as they exited into the snow.


	25. The Downside of Debauchery

Outside the pub, the street was quiet and empty. Caradoc was putting snow on his bloody lip.

"What the fuck is your problem, mate?" roared Fairfax at James. "Have you lost it completely? He was just having an innocent dance with her!" Then he turned to a very subdued Caradoc and said, "Let's go Doc, Johnny and I will help you." They ambled off toward the portkey, Caradoc using Fairfax and Johnny B. for support.

James was silent. He was having a hard time standing up so he knelt down on the snowy pavement and held his stomach for fear he might vomit.

Lily was fuming. "I am done with this nonsense," she exclaimed angrily. He kept his eyes averted, unable to look at her as she continued. "I am through waiting for you to get it together. You practically ignore me for a week, and only when you see a friend has asked me to dance do you acknowledge my existence? You have humiliated me for the last time. I don't even know what else to say. I want to leave. Annabelle? Alice? I need to get out of here." She was shaking like a leaf.

Remus said, "Come on, I'll get you back to the castle. Sirius and Peter can take care of James."

Right then, Peter tumbled over and vomited all over himself. Then he tried to stand up, but slipped in it. Despite the graveness of the situation, Annabelle caught Sirius trying not to laugh at him. Annabelle had to cover her mouth to hide her smile, even though Peter could not have been more revolting than he was at that moment.

"I can't get up," he said. "Somebody help me." Remus was already at his side helping him up.

"Change of plans," said Remus. "Annabelle, you stay with Sirius and James. Come on, Peter, I've got you."

"Lil, are you sure you don't want to wait and go back with us?" asked Annabelle.

"No. I don't want to be near him. You stay and help Sirius with him. I'm going back," she said. "I will see you there."

"Okay," she said softly, feeling sad for her friend. "Be careful."

Annabelle hadn't realized how much James had been drinking, but he was almost asleep on his knees, and he wasn't budging.

"Just let me sleep here," he murmured, deciding to lie down on the sidewalk.

"You can't sleep here, mate," said Sirius, rubbing snow in his face to wake him up.

"Stop," he moaned, and tried to shoo Sirius away with his hand.

Sirius was getting frustrated and he yelled, "If you don't get up you're going to freeze to death out here. Now get up! Come on, now. Get up!"

Annabelle didn't want to stand out in the cold all night. Also, they had to make it back to Hogsmeade before the Green Banshee closed or else they'd have to find another way into the castle. She approached James and said, "Come on, James, get up now." And she took a handful of snow and put it down the back of his shirt.

That got him moving, and cursing, but thankfully he was off the ground. Sirius supported him from one side and Annabelle took the other. They weren't as drunk as James, but they were unsteady on their feet, so it took a while for the three of them to shuffle back to the portkey on the slippery street.

"I fucked up, didn't I?" asked James, who kept stopping to hold his stomach. Annabelle just hoped that he didn't get sick on her.

"I'll say," she said.

"Going to have to agree with her," said Sirius. "What is going on with you, mate?"

"I've lost her for good this time," he slurred sadly. "She will never forgive me."

Annabelle was having a hard time feeling sorry for him, but she resisted the urge to be cross. She didn't want to rub salt in his wounds.

"You've got to pull yourself together," said Sirius, clearly hurting for his friend. "You went off the rails in there. And you'd better apologize to Caradoc tomorrow before he pays you back."

"Why did he have to dance with her?" James asked slowly, trying too hard to speak without slurring.

"My guess would be because _you_ weren't dancing with her," Annabelle replied.

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I'm a bloody mess. She deserves better," he rambled.

Again, Annabelle was tempted to agree, but she could see Sirius was distraught over his best friend's miserable state, so she bit her tongue.

"Come on, mate. Let's just worry about getting back to the dorms. You can think it over tomorrow when you aren't piss drunk," Sirius replied.

Eventually, after several slips and stops for James, they made it to the old barn. There, they touched a tree stump and were jolted back to the woods outside Hogsmeade with such force that James immediately vomited upon landing.

"Good grief," Annabelle muttered.

She felt like it was taking forever to get back to the castle. Nobody noticed them staggering to the back of the Green Banshee. Several times in the tunnel James decided to lie down and Sirius and Annabelle had to negotiate with him to get up again. It was exhausting.

Once they were inside the castle, Sirius consulted their map. He tapped it with his wand as he quietly mumbled something indecipherable to Annabelle's tired ears. She made a mental note to ask him about it another day.

"Looks clear, but only if we hurry. Filch is out and about," he said. "He's currently in the dungeons."

The silliness from a couple hours ago seemed like a distant memory, Annabelle thought now as their legs struggled to carry them up to Gryffindor Tower.

They made it into the dark common room, and panic seized Annabelle. What if the others hadn't made it back for some reason? What if something had happened to them?

Sirius was obviously having similar thoughts because he said, "Annie, check to see if the girls are back and let us know?"

Annabelle climbed the stairs to their dorm. She was about to pass by the loo when she noticed the lights were on and she heard crying. She opened the door to see Lily kneeling over a toilet and Alice seated next to her with her back against the stall, her eyes closed.

She quickly tottered back down to the bottom step, peeked around the wall and said, "They're here."

"Good," Sirius replied. James was on the couch, moaning about what a screw-up he was. Annabelle wanted to help, but Lily needed her.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked Sirius as he was trying to haul James off the couch.

"Yes, I can handle it from here," he said. "Goodnight, Annabelle."

"Good night, Sirius," she replied.

They looked at each other for a fleeting moment, acknowledging what had transpired between them that night. Annabelle felt her cheeks flush and she looked away, disappearing up the staircase.

She went straight back to the loo, where Lily still had her head over the toilet, alternating between vomiting and crying.

"Lily, maybe I should go wake Madame Pomfrey," Annabelle suggested in a distraught voice. She wished now they hadn't been so utterly naïve about alcohol. Lily, on her mission to teach James a lesson, had far more to drink than she ever should have.

"No, Annie, don't do that. She'll tell Dumbledore," she croaked.

Annabelle grabbed a clean towel and wet it in the sink. She climbed into the stall, careful not to step on Alice who was sound asleep, and knelt beside her, wiping her face. Her eyes were swollen from crying.

"Don't move. I'm going to try to get our night clothes."

"No, Annie. Don't go," Lily sobbed.

"If we all go upstairs to change, Lorelei or Dominica will wake up. I will be right back."

A few minutes later, Annabelle returned. She woke Alice, who helped her get Lily sorted, and after getting ready for bed themselves, they helped Lily up the stairs. Annabelle took the wastepaper basket and put it next to Lily's bed, just in case. The last thing she wanted was Lily falling down the winding stone staircase in an attempt to make it to the toilet in the middle of the night.

As soon as Annabelle closed her eyes, she felt like her bed was spinning. She had to sit up and open her eyes to make it stop. Every time she lay back down, it would happen again. It was nauseating, and she knew then that she would never be like her mother, because she never wanted to drink again. After changing positions several times, she was finally about to drift off when Lorelei shouted, "Who in the bloody hell keeps moving around? Go the feck to sleep!"

_Bitch_, Annabelle thought.

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Annabelle woke to the sunlight beaming through the window and a strong feeling that she should be remembering something. She could hear Dominica and Lorelei talking, and then heard their footsteps heading down the stairs. Immediately, she sat straight up in bed as the events of the previous night came rushing back to her. Did the girls really go out to a pub? Were they really doing shots of Merlin knows what? And did she… did she really kiss Sirius Black? She began to wonder if it had been a dream and she looked toward Lily and Alice's beds. They were still there, sound asleep. She checked the time and saw that breakfast had started already. Her stomach turned at the thought of food.

She got up to shower and decided to get dressed for the day, even though she hadn't had nearly enough sleep. Her mind was racing now. She didn't want to go to anywhere until she knew Lily and Alice were okay, so she went back up to the room and waited for them to wake up.

Alice opened her eyes when Annabelle entered the room, and said, "My head feels like someone took a hammer to it."

"Mine hurts, too," said Annabelle.

Lily stirred and said, "Did last night really happen?" Her eyes were still closed.

"I asked myself the same question," replied Annabelle.

"Yes, I am afraid so," said Alice.

"How did it end so badly," asked Lily.

"James had way too much to drink," said Annabelle.

Lily opened her eyes at the mention of James.

"Did you get back alright?" she asked.

"We managed, but he was in quite a state," Annabelle replied. "Do you remember dumping him?"

"Yes," she said softly. "And I meant it."

Annabelle just nodded. She didn't want to say anything because knowing Lily, she may change her mind in a day.

Alice said, "Maybe being apart will do you both some good. You'll feel better about yourself, and hopefully he will learn a lesson from all of this."

"What should we do? I don't want to run into him. I know that inevitably I will have to see him, but right now, I just can't be around him," she said.

"It's too cold to be outside all day. And you are bound to see him at some point anyway," said Alice, getting up.

"I'm staying here then," Lily declared and pulled the blanket over her head.

"We could always go to the library," suggested Annabelle, who really didn't want to spend her Sunday in the library but couldn't think of any other option.

"That's a good idea," said Lily, who decided to get out of bed. "Goodness knows _they _won't be there on a Sunday."

It dawned on Annabelle that neither was aware that she and Sirius had kissed, or she would have heard about it by now. They had been too drunk and too preoccupied to notice and she was glad for some reason. Maybe because she knew they would get excited and ahead of themselves, when Annabelle herself wasn't even sure what it had meant. Would he even remember it happening? Was it just a drunken kiss? Would things suddenly be awkward between them? As usual, Annabelle began to worry.

The girls hid from the boys all morning, but by lunch they were feeling hungry and decided to venture into the Great Hall. The boys were not there, which was a huge relief. A few minutes later, though, James, Sirius, Remus, and Caradoc all strolled in looking tired, but like nothing had happened at all. James went with Caradoc and sat down at their former spot at the table, no word to any of the girls. Remus and Sirius stopped to inquire how they were feeling.

"Let's just say, now I know why you were taking it easy with the shots," Alice said to Remus.

"Someone had to remain vigilant," he said.

"What about you, Annabelle?" asked Sirius.

"I feel fine," she said. "Except for a pounding headache. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," replied Sirius. "But not as bad as Peter. He couldn't even get out of bed. Thought we were going to have to get Madame Pomfrey. He was sick all night."

Annabelle and Alice shook their heads remorsefully.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," said Alice. "Lesson learned. I'm never doing that again."

Annabelle nodded in silent agreement.

Sirius gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and said, "I guess we'll see you later." They walked away to join James and Caradoc, and just like that, their seating arrangements went back to the way they used to be.

Annabelle wasn't sure what she was supposed to take from that. Her rational self told her he was being supportive of his friend, but wanted to acknowledge her as well. No big deal. Her paranoid self stepped in and told a different story; he regretted kissing her and was trying to let her down easy.

"Look at that. He beats Caradoc to a pulp, and just like that, they're mates again. Boys are ridiculous," grumbled Lily.

"That, they are," agreed Annabelle. "Let's get out of here. This awkwardness is going to do my head in."

"No," declared Lily, who didn't realize Annabelle had her own reason for wanting to flee. "I've changed my mind. I'm not going to let him chase me away. I am going to go about my life and not give his presence a second thought."

Johnny B. arrived then and came right over to the girls, but didn't sit down.

"Really?" he questioned them. "We are back to being segregated now?"

"We were here first," said Alice. "They chose to sit over there."

"Where am I supposed to sit then? I'm so torn!" he exclaimed.

"Go with them, Johnny. It's okay. We will still love you," assured Annabelle.

"Fine, but I'm sitting with you at dinner."

After hanging out in their dorm room for the afternoon, they went to dinner where Johnny B. reported that James hadn't said much about the night before except to apologize to Caradoc for being a drunken asshole. Again, the boys arrived after them, and they had to endure the uneasiness of them walking by instead of joining them. Annabelle glanced at Sirius; he smiled and gave her hair a little pet as he passed. This time he didn't stop to talk.

After dinner, the students retreated to their various common rooms. The girls claimed the sofa in front of the fire with a few fifth-years while the boys sat at a study table on the other side of the room. There were enough students about that they could easily ignore each other. Normally, Annabelle and Sirius would be doing their assignments now at that very table. Rage welled up inside her when she saw Dominica waltz over to chat with them. She looked at Lily to see if she noticed, but had her answer when she saw Lily's narrowed eyes. A few minutes passed and Dominica flounced away from them back to her new friends, shooting Lily and Annabelle a smug look, obviously well pleased with the current turn of events. Alice discreetly made an offensive hand gesture at her, causing her to sneer and look away. Annabelle had had enough of the strangeness and decided to go upstairs, but Lily chose to stay put as long as Alice was there to keep her company. She was determined to show James she was over him, even though she clearly wasn't.

She glanced shyly at Sirius as she headed toward the stairs to the girls' dormitory. He was looking at her and mouthed the words _"Good night."_ She waved awkwardly in response before heading up the staircase.

"Am I imagining it or is Annabelle acting strange?" he asked the others.

"She has been pretty quiet," said Remus. "I wonder why."

Even though he had been drinking the night before, Sirius had been completely aware of what they were doing, and he thought she had been too. He thought it possible that she regretted it now. If that was the case, and as much as he hoped it wasn't, he needed to let her off the hook. Either way, he couldn't spend another day like this one, with Annabelle distancing herself from him.

"I'm going to find out," he said. He got up and crossed the room, motioning to Alice.

She made her way over to him. "Hi, Sirius, everything alright?" she asked pleasantly.

"Sure, everything's smashing," he joked, since clearly everything was a mess, and she chuckled at his sarcasm. "Will you do me a favor and go tell Annabelle to come back down for a moment? I need to speak with her."

"Sure I will. Be right back."

Annabelle was on her bed, trying to focus on her reading, her mind still consumed by the kiss. Alice popped in and said, "Sirius just sent me up here to get you. He wants to talk to you."

"About what?" Annabelle asked, heart suddenly pounding.

"How should I know?" she responded. "Shall I tell him you'll be down to meet him?"

"Um… of course, I'll be down in a minute," she said, getting her shoes back on and running a brush through her hair.

As she stepped down into the common room, she heard "BOO!"

She screeched as she twisted her head around to see Sirius against the wall by the stairs, laughing hysterically. Other students were looking and laughing too.

She giggled a little, even though she was trying not to.

"Oh, Annie, it's too easy to frighten you," he said with a sigh, attempting to stop laughing.

"So, Alice said you wanted to talk to me?" she asked.

"Yes, step out into the hall with me for a bit?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She looked at him suspiciously, but took his hand, and he led her through the portrait hole and out onto the landing of the stairs. Annabelle stood with her back against the wall, hoping its security would help her remain cool. He stood next to her, his arms crossed as he leaned with one shoulder against the wall. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Has your headache gone away?" he asked cautiously, a friendly smile on his face.

"For the most part. Thanks for asking," she replied nonchalantly. "Are you feeling better?"

"A bit," he said, nodding his head. "Do you remember anything from last night?" he asked slowly.

"Of course."

"Do you remember our kiss?" he asked, no longer seeming carefree, but a bit tense.

"Yes. I wasn't that drunk," she replied steadily, trying not to give anything away until she knew where he was going with this.

"Was I too forward with you?"

"No, you were a perfect gentleman."

He paused, looking down at the floor before looking back at her and asking, "Do you regret it?"

Until she knew his answer to that question, she didn't want to answer it herself for fear that their answers wouldn't match.

"Do you?" she replied.

Sirius smiled. "Answering a question with a question I see. But I'll answer since I can see this conversation is making you anxious. No, I do not regret it."

Annabelle was speechless. She just stood there like a bump on a log, not sure how to proceed. She was glad to know he didn't regret it, it didn't mean he wanted to make a habit out of it either.

Sirius took her silence as rejection. "You do regret it. Okay," he said, turning forward and standing up straight. Then he looked back at her and said, "I'm sorry Annabelle. I hope this doesn't make things awkward between us. It won't happen again, but you know that since you won't want to-"

She touched his arm. "No, Sirius," she said shaking her head. "You're wrong about that. I don't regret it. Not at all. I thought maybe you had, since you were keeping your distance today."

"How could I not keep my distance when you were in hiding with Lily all day? I thought you were purposely avoiding me," he explained.

"No. I mean…maybe I was, because I was embarrassed that you might be wishing it never happened, if you even remembered."

"How could I forget?" he asked, his eyes intent on her.

She smiled, and said, "Lily and Alice don't know."

"Neither do the others," he grinned roguishly.

"It's kind of nice having a secret," she said.

Sirius took her by the hand and said, "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" she asked, worrying about getting caught.

"Away from potential disturbances," he replied.

He led her up the flight of stairs and turned down a darkened corridor, lit only by torches and the ambient light from the foyer below. Since it was after nine o'clock, the hall was empty of students, except for them. They didn't go far, hiding between two suits of armour just around the corner from the staircase. He took her other hand and led her to the wall.

"Would you like to continue where we left off last night?" he asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," she replied bashfully.

She closed her eyes as he took her face in his hands, slowly dotting her cheek with kisses. She held on loosely to his forearms, enjoying the sensation of what felt like butterflies flitting across her cheek. The wall supported her as he moved his hands to her waist. She felt his lips on hers, and they kissed timidly at first, as one might test the temperature of the water before diving into the ocean. Neither was an experienced kisser, but it didn't matter, since they were ready to learn from each other. They paused for a breathless moment to look at each other, and then she whispered his name in a way he hadn't heard it spoken before; a way that made his heart beat faster.

He pressed his lips to hers again, and they began kissing with greater confidence. Since their senses were not dulled by alcohol this time, it was even better than the night before. He squeezed her against him, trying to get her as close to him as possible. Distantly, his subconscious had registered a sound, but he didn't want to think about it; only wanting to focus on her. Then again, he heard it. Annabelle's body had tensed so he figured she heard it too. They opened their eyes and separated their lips, listening for the sound again.

Again, there it was. And since they were now fully aware that danger might be lurking, they recognized it for what it was. It was the sound of doorknobs turning. Filch was doing a walk through, checking to make sure everything was as it should be.

They looked at each other with wide eyes, Annabelle planting her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp. Sirius turned and slowly peeked around the suit of armour to see where he was exactly. He was halfway to them, and if they didn't make a move right then, they would most likely be discovered.

Sirius reached back and took her hand, whispering as quietly as he could so that she almost had to read his lips instead, "We will have to go _fast_."

She nodded as he looked around the suit of armour again, waiting for a moment when Filch was turned toward a door. He gave her hand a pull and they were off, scurrying around the armour, rounding the corner to the staircase, and flying down the stairs to the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" Filch snarled, muttering a string of unpleasantries under his breath as he made his way to the staircase. By the time he arrived though, Sirius and Annabelle were gone, having made it back to the common room unseen.

* * *

**_A/N: Please, give me some feedback. Even if you are shy. I don't bite! :)_**


	26. Those Sixth-Year Girls

Annabelle and Sirius had thought for sure that Lily and James would want to switch back to their former lab partners but Lily was determined to prove to James that she didn't care one way or the other, and James felt that switching back was too final, even though he did not tell Lily this. He felt like there was hope if they were still lab partners, even though they were barely speaking. Not that Slughorn would have necessarily entertained the idea of another switch anyway, which had been what Sirius and Annabelle were secretly counting on in the event that they did want to change back. It was disappointing enough that they could no longer sit next to each other at meals, they didn't want to lose Potions as well.

It was difficult for them, though, sitting right next to each other, barred from making contact. So many times he wanted to reach out and smooth a strand of hair from her face, or take her hand in his. It was maddening forcing himself to look at Professor Slughorn… instead of at her. Annabelle felt the same frustration, and would occasionally cross her leg so that her foot brushed against his leg. He would smile, feeling like he might shatter from not being able to touch her.

They still hadn't told anyone, and as difficult as it was to keep something this big from their friends, they were enjoying being the only two privy to their affair. Also, and this may have been a more influential factor in their decision than they cared to admit, they didn't want to flaunt their feelings in front of a very depressed James and a hurting Lily. Finding ways to be alone was tricky though. They thought they'd been figured out several times when one of their friends would give them a suspicious look over some odd errand they had to run together, or notice them exchanging meaningful looks one too many times.

At dinner one evening, Annabelle and Sirius were practically having a conversation across the length of the table with their subtle expressions, and Alice noticed.

"What are you grinning about?" she asked, her suspicion evident in her tone.

"What? Me? Nothing," Annabelle replied, a bit startled.

"Come on now, I see you looking over there," said Alice as she craned her neck to see who might be looking back. No one was, since Sirius could tell by Annabelle's face that she'd been caught.

"Alice, really, it's nothing," she said, smiling nervously.

"Come off it, Annie. Just snog him already," she said.

Annabelle's eyes widened, "Oh my goodness, Alice. Not this again!" she said, still grinning in spite of herself.

"Lily, maybe we should ask them to join us so Annabelle and Sirius here can stop making googly eyes at each other," suggested Alice.

Lily frowned at her plate. "They chose to sit there again, remember? They're all just doing what James wants, I'm sure."

Annabelle said, "Maybe he's really embarrassed. I mean, I would be if I was him. And they are his best friends, so it's not like they are just going to abandon him."

"You're right. I just feel bad that our seating arrangement seems to depend solely on whether or not James and I are getting along."

Annabelle couldn't argue with that, but she figured it wouldn't be permanent. Eventually, they'd talk it out, and at the very least, be friends or something like that. Or so she hoped.

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The Hallowe'en Feast was the next night, and it just wasn't as fun as when they were younger. The boys were being their typical selves, hooting at the ghosts and generally showing off. Dominica had gradually worked her way over to sitting with them, along with a giddy Septima, and was making a great effort to talk to James in front of Lily whenever she could, just to get Lily going Annabelle guessed.

Sirius excused himself from his mates saying he was going to the loo. He passed Annabelle and gave her back a tickle on his way out. A couple minutes later, Annabelle used the same excuse to meet Sirius at a broom closet a few floors up that they had agreed upon earlier that day. He was standing outside the door waiting for her when she rounded the corner. He guided her into the darkness and shut the door behind them. They hadn't found many opportunities to be together, so once the door clicked shut, they immediately started kissing. Annabelle had thought about bringing him to the secret tower she had discovered her first year, but she wasn't sure she was ready to share it just yet. She also had a feeling that if they started using it for their tryst they might end up going a bit further than she was ready for at this point, since they wouldn't be as worried about being caught, but the temptation was definitely there.

Dominica had also excused herself to the loo, just after Annabelle did. She followed her up the stairs and watched as she disappeared with Sirius Black into a broom closet. Dominica was a broom closet regular at Hogwarts, even more so this year. She had no justification for tattling on them, except that she had fancied Sirius for longer than Annabelle. Most girls had, but Dominica thought she was special, or entitled to him for the simple fact that she had been in the Quidditch groupie business the longest. She had already made her way through several of Hufflepuff's team this year, but she liked a challenge and Sirius was indeed a challenge, as he had seemed unreachable to mere mortals. The only one who had come close was Elsinore, that slag, but even the glorious Elsinore hadn't gotten very far. Dominica knew that the only way she stood a chance with Sirius was to get Annabelle out of the picture, and Elsinore, who had no idea that Dominica was interested in Sirius for herself, was the only person who wanted to run Annabelle off as much as she did. Dominica had dreamt about him all summer, even planning to make her move on him this year, but then he and Annabelle became friends. After that, he wouldn't even look at any other girl but her. All this time, she was convinced that they were just friends. All this time she had been foolish. A terrible seething anger filled her, and she instantly ran to alert Mr. Filch.

Things were getting a bit intense in the broom closet. Annabelle was torn; she didn't want to stop because, well, it was Sirius. His skin against hers, his breath on her neck, his hair tickling her shoulder that he had managed to expose... It was all so wonderful. The secret tower beckoned to her, yet the nagging little voice in her head that sounded vaguely like Professor McGonagall told her not to get in over her head. Don't grow up too fast. Don't give yourself away so quickly. She remembered once during her third year, one of the seventh-year girls named Drusilla imparted to the eager girls her worldly knowledge of how some boys were only interested in one thing and would drop you like a hot potato after they got it, which was bad news for you if you had feelings for him. She didn't think Sirius was one of those boys, but how could she know? They hadn't even called each other boyfriend or girlfriend, and they certainly hadn't said the L word yet, but she had all kinds of feelings for him. No, she would have to be the strong one here, and make sure they didn't do anything they might regret later.

"Sirius," she whispered as he kissed her neck. "We should get back."

"You think so?" he whispered, leaving a trail of kisses around her collarbone.

"Yes. We have to stop," and she pulled away from him. "We've been gone too long."

"You're right, you're right," he said. They both stood still for a moment catching their breath, then they began fixing their clothes and helping smooth the other's hair.

"They are going to send a search party after us if we don't get back soon," Annabelle said awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood as they left the closet and he shut the door behind them.

"Annabelle, wait," he said. She turned around and she could see he was feeling uneasy about something.

When he hesitated, she said gently, "Go on then, out with it. What is it?"

"I don't ever want you to think I am pressuring you to do anything you're not ready for. I'm not going anywhere, so we can take our time. It will give us something to look forward to," he said.

"I like the sound of that," she said, smiling shyly. What a relief that he was okay with going slow, but why wouldn't he be? He wasn't in any rush or he'd have just accepted Elsinore's countless advances over the years, or Dominica's for that matter.

They kissed once more before heading back down to the Halloween festivities, she entering the Great Hall first, and him just after.

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"It's that broom closet, Mr. Filch. They went in here," said Dominica. Then she took off down the stairs to hide, so Sirius wouldn't know it was her that told. He opened the door and shined his lantern inside. It was empty.

"EMPTY!" Filch shouted. "If this is another prank, I'm not biting," he said. "I have a mind to report you for telling tales. What's your name?"

"Septima," Dominica lied as she exhaled in defeat. She climbed back up the stairs. "They were in there, I promise! I'm not pranking you!"

"I've had enough of this broom closet nonsense. Time to lock them _properly_, I say," he grumbled. Since he couldn't perform the magic himself, he would have to get someone else to charm the locks, making them impervious to Alohamora.

"What? Because of some crazy kids? Surely Mr. Filch, you don't mean that!" she protested. Instead of thwarting Annabelle and Sirius, she only ended up getting herself locked out broom closets in the future.

Filch ignored her and lurched away, leaving her alone with her bitterness.

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"That was a long trip to the loo," said Peter. "Did you fall in?"

Sirius responded by flicking a pea at him. It hit its mark right in the center of his forehead, and everyone burst out laughing, forgetting that he had been gone too long.

Lily and Alice also wondered what had happened to Annabelle.

"We almost came to see if you were okay," said Lily. "What the heck happened?"

"The pumpkin juice was giving me an upset stomach. Do I need to go into detail?" she lied.

"No, please don't," said Alice, as she put down her apple.

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At Quidditch practice the next morning, the team had decided to get Annabelle comfortable with standing on her broom if it took all morning. Sirius had practiced with her a few times, but he made her stay very close to the ground because he was afraid for her to get hurt. The others were not so soft with her.

Sirius pulled James aside while the others demonstrated the proper technique for her again.

"I don't think she's ready for this," he said bluntly.

"That's why we are doing this, so she will be ready," James responded.

"It's a move even some professionals have a hard time executing," Sirius protested. "I have worked with her on this before, and I really don't think she's ready for it."

"Look, I know you feel responsible for her, but she is playing now because she wants to, so how about you let her decide for herself if she's ready or not?" replied James, who turned and rejoined the team.

Sirius was frustrated, but he figured the only thing he could do was see to it that she had a lot of practice to minimize her chances of falling. Very few people throughout history had died as a result of Quidditch injuries, but he didn't want Annabelle to be among them.

After a couple hours of intensive practice, Annabelle had managed to stand on the broom several times, but fell almost every time, once even missing her broom on the way down. Fairfax had been spotting her though, and caught her easily. They decided to call it quits for the day after that, as it had given them all quite a scare. They had just enough time to get ready for class and grab a quick bite to eat before breakfast ended.

On their way to Transfiguration, Sirius asked Annabelle if Lily was still angry at James.

"Are you asking for him?" replied Annabelle.

"Yes," he said sheepishly, "but before you say he can ask her himself, I am asking for me too. I miss us all sitting together in the Great Hall."

Annabelle was comforted to know he was feeling the same. It felt kind of lonely without them now. Dominica had moved down the table away from them and had taken Septima and a few others with her weeks ago. Lorelei had been sitting with her boyfriend all year, so it was just the three of them now. Normally this would be fine, but Alice was always pining away for Frank, Lily completely lost in her thoughts about James, and Annabelle with her mind on her secret, so the three of them made for rather dull company.

"Yes, maybe a little, but I think she is just feeling foolish. She trusted him, and you saw how he behaved," she said.

"He's hurting too, you know," Sirius said.

"I believe you, but she's not going to wait around forever while he sorts himself out. And if he thinks he'll ever get her back by talking to Dominica in front of her then he has bigger issues than I thought. What is the deal with that?"

"I don't know, actually. She's been talking to us more lately because she says you girls won't talk to her."

Annabelle stopped walking and her eyes grew wide. She exclaimed, "She said what?"

"I am just repeating what she said, Annie. Not taking her side," Sirius replied nervously.

"Well, she's lying to you. She's been nothing but nasty to us since ... you know what? Forget it. She wants me to bad mouth her so she can look innocent and I can look like the hag. Just forget it."

With that she walked into the classroom and went to her seat. Sirius wasn't sure what just happened, but Annabelle was upset, that was for sure. He wished he hadn't said anything about Dominica. After class was dismissed, Sirius watched as Annabelle crossed the aisle to her best friend and whispered in her ear. Lily's facial expression changed from curious to enraged and she looked directly at Sirius. He didn't know how to respond so he just shrugged and went about gathering his stuff. Lily stormed past him without a word, Annabelle at her heels.

Sirius had a bad feeling about the purposefulness with which they took off out of the room. He almost let it go, chalking it up to girl drama, but then he remembered that Dominica had been hanging around Elsinore, and thought there might be more to it. He quickly gathered his things and followed, stopping at the doorway to watch as the girls continued partway down the hall. He didn't want to get involved unless Annabelle specifically asked him too, but he also didn't want them inviting in trouble with Dominica and the Slytherins without any back up either.

"What's going on?" James asked as he approached the door.

"I honestly don't know. It involves Dominica though," he said.

"What do they have against Dominica all of a sudden?" James asked.

"Again, I don't know the whole story, but they are pretty upset."

James just sighed and shook his head, clearly not interested in what he assumed was just pointless in-fighting among the Gryffindor sixth-year girls. Sirius, on the other hand, had an ominous feeling about it. Annabelle and Lily weren't the types to get involved in petty rubbish with other girls. But if trouble had found them, he knew they wouldn't back down from it.

Lily was on a mission to confront Dominica then and there, but Dominica was nowhere to be found. Annabelle had to get to the library, but couldn't bear to leave Lily when she might do something crazy.

"Dominica!" Lily called. "Come out come out wherever you are!"

"Lily," said Annabelle calmly, taking her arm and pulling her over to her, "Lily, she's gone. Listen to me."

"Calm down, Lily," said Alice. "Don't do anything here with teachers everywhere."

"She has played her last dirty game," she snapped.

"I know," placated Annabelle, "but I have to go to work and you really need to wait until I can be there too. You aren't going to have all the satisfaction without me!"

"Fine," she said. "I am coming with you to the library in case she makes an appearance. I mean it, I am confronting her today if it's the last thing I do."

This gave Annabelle immense relief, since the thought of being trapped in the library while Lily was off in the castle seeking Dominica for a showdown was unsettling at best.

"I'd come, too, but Remus and I still have to finish our lab," Alice explained. "Are you two going to be alright?"

"Yes," said Lily, "But I can't say the same for Dominica."


	27. Ambush

The library showed no signs of Dominica. To pass the time, Lily helped Annabelle shelve books and spray for doxies. The librarian let her go early since she finished everything in half the time with Lily's help, and there really wasn't much else to be done.

"Let's go find her," Lily said, who had been deep in thought and rather quiet while in the library.

Annabelle was having second thoughts. Not about confronting Dominica, since she had wanted to do that herself for some time. She just wasn't sure that hunting her down and cornering her angrily was the right approach. She felt they needed to think about what they were going to say, and to be calm when they said it.

"Don't you think it's better have a plan, Lil?" Annabelle asked. "She's just going to be defensive, otherwise."

Lily's anger turned to weepiness almost instantly. "Annabelle, she's just trying to hurt us. I can't let another person just walk all over me," she whimpered, the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"But Lily, you know she's only doing it because she's jealous. She doesn't actually have a chance with James."

"I'm not so sure. He's a boy and she's attractive, and fun, and… well, you know… willing."

"Some boys want more than a quick shag," Annabelle said, firmly believing that not all boys would hook up with Dominica just because they could.

"Do you think they hooked up already?" Lily asked.

"No, Lily. I don't. James may be immature, but I don't think he's a total loss," affirmed Annabelle. "Come on, let's go see if Alice is done with her lab assignment and see what she thinks about all of this."

They left the library and were passing through the double doors to a large, sunny foyer and a staircase that would lead to Gryffindor tower. Dominica was coming down the stairs, alone.

Annabelle could not believe her timing. Lily immediately tensed, but Dominica seemed almost relaxed, she was so unfazed by the encounter. Like maybe she had been looking for them.

"Are you two going to hex me or something," Dominica sneered as she reached the last step.

"No. That's something your Slytherin friends would do," Lily hissed.

Dominica just smiled arrogantly.

"Why are you treating us like the enemy? What did we do to you?" asked Annabelle.

Dominica laughed bitterly, then mimicked Annabelle's question in a baby voice.

"Wow, thanks," said Annabelle. "Your metamorphosis from friend to bully is now complete. Congratulations."

"Oh please. You think you are the victims here? You both get your celebrity boyfriends and start acting like you own the place, but I am the problem?"

Lily and Annabelle looked at her as if she had two heads. Lily asked, genuinely confused, "How are we doing that? I really want to know how either one of us is acting like we own the place."

"Oh come off it. You are both running around with the two most popular guys not only in Gryffindor, but in the whole school. You keep them both on a string that you just yank whenever it suits your whims. Well, guess what? They are people too, and they deserve better than the likes of two half-breed snobs who don't really care about them. All you care about is being popular."

"What did you just say?" Annabelle asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Which part?" Dominica spat.

"Did you just call us half-breeds?" she asked incredulously.

"So? You are. It doesn't matter than your grandfather was some big-time wizard. You are still beneath Sirius Black. Come on, Annabelle, you didn't actually think his family would ever accept you, did you? James Potter's family may be different, if Lily would stop using him as a doormat, but The Black Family doesn't play games with people like _you_."

Annabelle had so much she wanted to say to this pathetic, lost girl, that she didn't know where to begin. Lily responded first though.

"I use him as a doormat? How are you in any way qualified to make that call? You don't know the first thing about our relationship!"

"You mean your former relationship," Dominica corrected.

"You don't know anything about Sirius Black either," said Annabelle, feeling her rage starting to boil as she pointed her wand at Dominica. "And don't you _ever_ mention my grandfather again. Do you hear me? _EVER_!"

"No one knows Sirius like I do," a smooth voice drawled from the top of the stairs. Lily and Annabelle looked up to see Elsinore Collins, poised and elegant yet at the same time, fiendish with her teeth-bearing smile.

Now Annabelle knew why Dominica had been so assertive and relaxed. She had been waiting for them, and so had Elsinore. She wondered if anyone else was lurking up the staircase.

"And he is only using you to upset his parents," she continued as she slowly made her way down the stairs. "It's only a phase, and he will snap out of it when he realizes Mummy and Daddy will cut him off from the family fortune if he continues his little escapade with you. He's always been like that, doing things to rile them up. You are just pawn in a bigger game he's been playing for years."

Annabelle knew she was just trying to get to her, but she couldn't help it; the words stung. Letting Elsinore know she was succeeding in hurting her was another thing, and Annabelle was going to try like crazy to maintain her composure.

"Keep telling yourself that," she replied, "if it makes you feel better. I know I'd feel pretty crappy if I were you, too. I mean, your pure-blood prince rejected you. And he's never looked back."

"Don't be so sure," said Elsinore, her cool façade starting to crack a little.

"You are both pathetic," Lily blurted out to them, realizing that Dominica was a lost cause. "You aren't even worth our attention." She tried to pass but Dominica and Elsinore blocked the way.

"Move," Lily said, eyes narrowed.

"Or else what?" Dominica asked.

"Don't underestimate me," she said evenly.

Annabelle made a move to push past them and Elsinore grabbed her by the hair and yanked as hard as she could. Annabelle could feel her hair separating from her scalp and her instinctive response was to slap her in the face if for no other reason than to prevent her from ripping any more hair out of her head.

Elsinore covered her face where Annabelle had slapped her and just like that, all four girls drew their wands. Annabelle and Lily tried to pass again, and this time the girls let them through. Just as Annabelle took the first step, a voice rang out from above, "_Impedimenta!"_ Next thing Annabelle knew her face was smacking into the stone floor after being thrown several feet.

Lily cast Expelliarmus at the perpetrator, who turned out to be Malachi. He dodged it and she tried again, this time sending his wand flying. Elsinore and Dominica started to make a run for it but Lily and Annabelle, who was dizzy and her vision blurred from hitting her head, attempted to stop them. Lily stupefied Elsinore, but Dominica immediately undid it. Annabelle managed to cast a spell that tripped Dominica, but they got away.

Lily rushed over to Annabelle. "Are you okay?" she asked, and gasped when she saw Annabelle's cheek. She had hit the floor hard enough to cut her cheek open.

"That monster!" Lily exclaimed as she helped Annabelle up. "You need to see Madame Pomfrey."

"No, it's just a scratch. What's the spell for scratches?"

"There are a few different ones. Let's let Madame Pomfrey decide which one. Besides, you hit your head pretty hard. The cut on your face may be the least of our worries. Come on," Lily insisted, steering Annabelle back the other way.

Potions was about to begin and Lily ran inside to discreetly inform Slughorn that she was taking Annabelle to the hospital wing because she fell and hit her face. Sirius and James exchanged worried glances as Lily left as quickly as she'd come in and it occurred to them who else was missing from class. They both got up and rushed out of the room, not wasting a second to tell Slughorn where they were going. Remus and Alice had not arrived at class yet, probably still finishing their assignment, since they were behind due to the recent full moon.

"What's going on?" James asked, looking toward Annabelle who was leaning against a wall, hand over her face. "Is she alright?"

Sirius saw Annabelle and rushed to her side.

"No, she's not. I am taking her to Madame Pomfrey," Lily replied, then she narrowed her eyes at him and said, "I hope you are happy. Now you see what your little girlfriend Dominica and her new mates are capable of."

"Girlfriend?" James asked, bewildered. "What in the bloody hell happened, Lily?"

"Annie?" Sirius said to her, but Annabelle didn't want to look at him. She didn't want him to see what had happened. "Move your hand, Annabelle. Please." He gently touched her hand and tried to pull it away but she turned her head away from him. He could see blood oozing out from where her hand was placed.

His eyes widened, and he got in front of her, taking her by the wrists. "Let me see Annabelle," he said, his voice shaking with fury. She slowly brought her hand down revealing the bleeding cut that had already started to swell.

"Who did this to you?" he asked evenly.

Annabelle didn't answer. She knew if she told him he would go after him. Malachi was dangerous. He wouldn't fight fair. He wanted to do real harm, or worse.

"Tell me, Annabelle," he said.

"I just fell on the stairs," she said unconvincingly.

Lily pushed past Sirius and slung her arm around Annabelle protectively. "I'm taking her to Madame Pomfrey. You'd better have a heart to heart with your darling Elsinore and your old buddy Malachi, because he could have killed her the way he cursed her to the floor!" she yelled, pointing her wand in the direction of the staircase they had used to escape.

Annabelle thought Lily would know better, but Lily was distressed and not thinking about the consequences if the boys found out it was Malachi that attacked Annabelle.

"Malachi did this?" he asked.

"That's what I said," Lily replied.

There was a pause while Sirius let this information sink in. James, who had been standing a few feet away, had heard as well. Sirius glanced at James, and James said nothing, but something had been communicated between them because James nodded and they both bolted in the direction Lily had unwittingly pointed them.

"Oh shite!" Lily exclaimed as they took off after them. "Wait! Stop!" But the boys had been quick and had a flight of stairs head start. Plus, Annabelle was still seeing stars from the fall, and had to stop a few times on the stairs to regain her balance.

Sirius and James found Malachi, Elsinore, and Dominica a few flights of stairs up, most likely waiting for the coast to be clear so they could go to Potions with no trouble. The chaos was instant, wands outs, curses flying. Dominica ran away, probably to seek back up. Sirius had managed to disarm Malachi right away, summoning his wand to him, but then Elsinore disarmed Sirius. Sirius wasted no time lunging for Malachi, as Elsinore disarmed James, sending his wand flying down two flights of stairs. He attempted to call it back with the summoning charm but for some reason it wasn't coming back to him, so he ran downstairs to retrieve it. Turned out Peeves had it.

Meanwhile Elsinore raised her wand and aimed it at Sirius but because of his proximity to Malachi and the motion of their fighting she couldn't get a straight shot. She was afraid she'd hit the wrong one. Instead, she jumped on Sirius's back and tried to pull him off of Malachi, going for the hair yank again. Sirius hollered in pain as she ripped a chunk of hair from his head and in that moment, Malachi slugged him in the temple just as Annabelle and Lily made it to the landing.

Elsinore gave it all she had then, yelling melodramatically, "No Malachi, don't hurt him! Please Malachi, stop! Not Sirius!" It was momentarily confusing, although Annabelle knew that besides wanting to upset her, Elsinore also wanted Sirius to believe she was defending him so he wouldn't be angry with her. Annabelle hoped Sirius wouldn't fall for it, but Elsinore had planted a tiny seed of doubt in her mind earlier when she had said "_Don't be so sure." _And everyone knows that when a seed is planted, chances are it will grow.

Sirius grabbed him by the neck just as Annabelle ferociously yanked Elsinore off Sirius's back, and shoved her to the floor causing her to drop her wand. Lily grabbed it as James returned to help Sirius, and then she stupefied Elsinore just as Dominica returned with Otto Mingus. Lily aimed at them, Petrified Otto, and just as Dominica was about to send a spell in Lily's direction, Remus came from behind with Alice and stupefied Dominica.

Sirius was now on top of Malachi against the stairs. Malachi had gotten a few more punches in, but Sirius still had him by the neck and wasn't letting go.

Annabelle knelt beside him as Remus tried to pull him off of Malachi, and she said in a soothing voice, "Let go of him, Sirius. Let go. He's not worth it." James aimed his wand at Malachi's face as Annabelle put her hands over Sirius's hands and began to pry them loose. At her touch, his grip on Malachi's neck slackened, and he jumped back, like even he couldn't believe what he might have done if he hadn't been stopped. James stupefied Malachi as soon as Sirius had moved away. Then he cursed them all with _Locomotor Mortis_, ensuring that when the Stupefy spell wore off, their legs would be locked and they wouldn't be able to move for a bit.

"We should get out of here, now," said Alice, who upon arriving at class and seeing them all missing, had known trouble was brewing. She dragged Remus along, convincing him that it was urgent. "We are going to have detention, just so you all know."

"It was worth it to humiliate that fuckwit," James responded.

They headed back down the stairs and Lily ushered Annabelle to Madame Pomfrey.

"You should come with us, Sirius," Lily called over her shoulder. "Your face is pretty messed up."

"I'll fix it for him," James said. "He'll be fine."

"Suit yourselves!" she replied.

As Alice predicted, she, Sirius, James, and Remus got detention for cutting class, along with Dominica, Elsinore, and Malachi. Annabelle and Lily did not, however, because Slughorn was under the impression they were with Madame Pomfrey the entire time. Otto Mingus was exempt as well, because he was a year ahead of them and not in Potions with them. No one knew about the fight. McGonagall was beyond disgusted with them, keeping them in her office for almost all of lunch trying to elicit from them what had gone on to make them miss class. Much to her frustration, the only response she got was from James who swore that they had not been up to anything devious, especially with those toerags, referring Malachi, Dominica, and Elsinore. Because they wouldn't explain themselves, she tacked on an extra day.

Meanwhile, Annabelle and Lily had gone to lunch where Johnny B. came to sit with them along with Peter, Caradoc and Fairfax. It felt stupid not to sit together when it was just the few of them, and there was no indication of when McGonagall would be liberating the others from her clutches. Johnny B. was disappointed in the news about Dominica crossing over to the dark side. Peter was upset that he missed the brawl, but was pleased he didn't have to do detention. About fifteen minutes before lunch was over, they all entered the Great Hall, faces downcast, but healed. Dominica quickly scurried off to her seventh-year friends, and Elsinore and Malachi went directly to the Slytherin table.

Sirius sat down next to Annabelle, not checking if James was okay with it. Apparently he was, since he sat down across from him without protest, and just like that, the boys went back to sitting with the girls again, only Lily and James no longer sat next to each other.

"How's your face?" Sirius asked her, inspecting her cheek.

"A lot better now," she said. "Yours looks better too. Good work, James."

"Thanks," he replied. "I think I'll start taking over for Madame Pomfrey when she's not here. Think Dumbledore will hire me? Healer James Potter, at your service."

"Don't quit your day job," said Peter, trying to be funny, but making little sense as usual.

James ignored him. "Are you going to tell us what happened?" he asked Annabelle.

"Dominica and Elsinore were waiting for us in the hall," she began, but James interrupted.

"They were waiting or you went looking for them?"

"We were going to look for Dominica to find out why she was spreading lies about us, but we decided to wait until we had thought it through some more. But they were waiting for us, with Malachi hiding. They wouldn't let us pass."

"They ambushed you, those dirty -" and Caradoc proceeded to call them every curse word he could think of.

"What the hell is Dominica's problem? When did she turn into such a crusty little hag?" asked Peter.

"She always was one. It's just showing now," retorted Lily. She got up and walked out of the Great Hall, not able to stomach the talk of Dominica anymore.

"I am not sure she _always_ was one, but she certainly is one now," said Annabelle, not wanting Lily to be off on her own after what had happened. "I'm going to catch up with Lily. See you in class."

Annabelle felt some relief because her afternoon class was not shared with Slytherin, but she still couldn't focus. She was too busy thinking about the fight, and how Sirius had, well, annihilated Malachi. It scared her a little, but what scared her more was what Malachi and company would do to seek revenge. She also couldn't get that voice out of her head; the voice of Elsinore to be exact, telling her Sirius was just using her to upset his parents and not to be sure that he hadn't looked back at her after he dumped her when they were twelve. And then how Elsinore had put on that act for Sirius, crying for Malachi to stop… Annabelle never liked her, but never had a reason to loathe her either, until now.

Sirius couldn't stop thinking about the events of the morning either. Seeing Annabelle bleeding, knowing Malachi had attacked her; it made his blood boil. And it also caused him terrible guilt, because Malachi was Sirius's problem to deal with, his enemy alone. Elsinore was his problem, no one else's. Now they were Annabelle's too, his beautiful Annabelle with blood running down her cheek. He never wanted any harm to come to her, but he felt like he was directly responsible for the cut on her face. And they hadn't even told anyone they were… whatever they were. Dating? If you could call an occasional trip to the broom closet or an empty classroom a date. Friends with benefits? He hoped not. It was so much more than that to him; she was so much more than that, but she was always so cautious, so he held back from telling her how he felt, maybe to protect himself too. Now he wondered if being together was a good idea at all, because she wasn't safe anymore, and all because of him.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews!**


	28. A Juvenile Game

Frosty October had given way to a fleeting rise in temperatures and November felt more like May for a few days. They had another game approaching, this one against Ravenclaw, and Annabelle was still not doing well with standing on her broom, even though half of their practice time was spent helping her. Again, she was distracted, and unlike the boys who seemed to be able to separate personal problems from the pitch, she couldn't control the intrusive thoughts nagging at her.

She told herself to stop, that Elsinore was winning if she started having misgivings about Sirius. She tried to bury the seed of doubt that had already taken root and begun to sprout leaves. She told herself to forget it, to focus on what's in front of her; the sunshine, her team, her friends, standing on the bloody broom and not falling. But the harder she tried, the more impossible it became to block it out.

Sirius could feel a distance forming between them. He briefly wondered if it was for the best, because that might make her less of a target for his enemies. But he hated the way it made him feel. He had meant to ask Lily why she had referred to Elsinore as "his little darling." Was that the impression people had? That Elsinore was somehow his? He didn't ask her though, because he wasn't sure he wanted to hear her response. He was more concerned with what Annabelle thought of him, and wondered if she also thought of Elsinore as "his." Nothing could be further from the truth. The two of them trailed behind the rest of the team as they headed in for dinner, and he took her hand.

"I miss you," he said.

"I'm right here," she replied.

He stopped with her just outside the Great Hall. "I know, but… well… something feels different," he explained. "And you're not telling me what you're thinking, and it's driving me crazy."

Gosh, he looked so sad and dejected, Annabelle thought as he held her hand tightly. Was this the face of a manipulator? The face of game player? Of a boy in love with someone else? She didn't think so, and she felt a pang of guilt for ever believing it was possible that he could be using her. For a moment she forgot about Elsinore and only saw Sirius, uncertainty written all over his perfect face.

"I'm thinking how irresistible you look with that sweet little frown you're making," she answered.

He smiled a little, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He couldn't help but squeeze her back, even though he was worried that the wrong people might notice.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me again," he said softly, holding her close. "I can't get the image of your cut face and what he did to you out of my mind... Maybe we should be more careful."

She lifted her head up to look at him, arms still wrapped tightly around him. "Careful? We've been hiding this… this thing we're doing for weeks now from everyone. We'd have to stop speaking to each other for them to think I wasn't associating with you anymore. And I can't do that."

"But Annabelle, he could have-"

"Are you trying to get rid of me? Because, unless you are telling me you're finished with me, I guess we are in this together. I'm not letting you go."

"I will never be finished with you," he said, grinning in his roguish way. But then his brow furrowed again and he asked, "What is this thing we're doing, Annie? I mean, what is it to you?"

Again with the questions she had hoped he'd answer first. She unlocked her arms from around his waist, taking one of his hands instead.

"What is it to you?" she asked.

He grinned again. "You are so predictable when you're nervous," he said. "Okay, I will answer first. To me?" He hesitated, unsure if he should say the words on the tip of his tongue. He decided not to, but chose instead to say another truth. "I think of you as my girlfriend, which is kind of uncomfortable because I don't know if you think of me as your boyfriend."

She smiled bashfully, her cheeks burning, and replied, "Wonder no more. I am happy to inform you that if you think of me as your girlfriend, then I most definitely think of you as my boyfriend."

He took her other hand and laced his fingers through hers as she leaned her head into his chest, hiding her huge smile. This kind of awkwardness was delicious though, as evidenced by his smile as well. She finally looked up at him again, and said, "And I don't care who knows."

He needed to kiss her then, and met her lips softly, just as they heard a familiar voice cry out, "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?"

They jumped and separated themselves to see Johnny B., who had just come from the loo where he had obviously been fixing his flawless hair, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, eyes wide with excitement.

"Were you two about to do what I think you were about to do?" he probed as he strode toward them.

"Johnny B., relax. I kiss my friends on the lips all the time," Sirius joked.

"You _were_ going to kiss! This is too much!" and he came over and pulled them into an exuberant hug. When he let them go, he said matter-of-factly, "It's about time."

Annabelle and Sirius exchanged knowing glances. Johnny B. did the math. "Wait, this isn't the first time, is it?" he asked, proud of his sleuthing skills. "The smouldering looks, the disappearing together, the napping-"

"Not the napping, Johnny B. That was… before," Annabelle corrected him.

"Are you going to tell everyone?" he asked. "Please say yes, because this is a secret I don't want to keep to myself."

"We aren't going to hide it anymore, but I don't think there's a way to tell everyone without sounding corny," Sirius replied.

"Yeah, like we aren't going to make an announcement," Annabelle said, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"I have an idea. Let's go in, but don't act like anything is any different. Just go along with what I say, okay?" Johnny B. asked.

Annabelle and Sirius just looked at him like he was crazy.

"Please? Come on. You think they don't care, but these people have been waiting for you two to get together for months now. Anyway, this is going to blow their minds!"

"Fine, but don't embarrass us," ordered Annabelle.

"Never," he said, "And remember, no snogging or anything cute until I'm done."

They took their seats at the table together between Remus and Lily, who now had Peter on her other side instead of James. Johnny B. was still across from them with Fairfax and James on one side, Alice and Caradoc on the other.

"Where were you three?" James asked.

"I can see from Johnny's perfect coiffure that he was in the loo fixing his hair," observed Fairfax.

"Ooh, ten point vocab word, Fairfax," said Remus, and Fairfax high-fived him.

"Where were the _two_ of you, then," James rephrased.

"Yes, good question," Lily said, almost scolding them. "You know those monsters could be lurking about."

"Sorry to scare you, Lil," said Annabelle. "We were right outside the door talking, that's all."

After a few minutes, Johnny B. said, "Who wants to play a game?"

"What kind of game?" asked Peter.

Johnny B. made a devilish face and said, "Truth or Dare. Only I ask all the questions."

Everyone laughed at his suggestion like it was the dumbest idea anyone ever had.

"What are we? Twelve?" Alice asked. "That game is so juvenile."

"Not only that, but we are in the Great Hall. That's Dumbledore up there with the long white beard, our headmaster, in case you haven't met him yet," said Peter, pointing toward the front of the room.

"Don't be so dull. Having the staff present just makes it that much more interesting. And we are still juveniles so we are still allowed to play Truth or Dare," Johnny B. said.

Everyone acted put out by the idea, but Johnny B. wouldn't take no for an answer. "It can be a short game," he negotiated.

"Alright alright, let's give it chance," said Caradoc, warming up to the idea. "It might be hilarious."

"Only if you have to play too at some point," said Lily to Johnny B.

"You can ask me the question, okay Lily?" She nodded and he responded emphatically, "That's the spirit! You're all playing, and that's final," Alice rolled her eyes and Remus chuckled, shaking his head.

"Starting with you Alice, since you seem really into this idea," Johnny B. began. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she muttered unenthusiastically.

"Who have you kissed other than Frank Longbottom?" he asked.

She blushed, but answered, "Silvester Glossop and Tobias Latham."

"What? I didn't know you kissed Tobias! He was in Hufflepuff, wasn't he?" asked Annabelle.

"Yes. It was during a game of Truth or Dare, actually. It was the dare I was given," she said flatly, already bored by the game.

"Next," Johnny B. said, "Skipping over to Remus. I'll come back to you two," he said to James and Fairfax. "Remus, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Remus replied.

"Do you fancy Claire Shaw?" Johnny B. asked. Apparently Sirius and Annabelle were not the only ones who noticed. Remus turned beet red and his smile faded quickly. He was so embarrassed that Annabelle's heart hurt looking at him.

She was about to suggest asking him something else, when he looked up at Johnny B. and said, "Yes."

"Aww. I knew it! Don't be embarrassed; she's so adorable," Johnny B. said. "We need to get our claws into her, stat. Ladies? _Operation Bring Claire Over to the Red and Gold Side_ has begun."

"Sure thing, boss," quipped Lily. "She seems like a nice person."

"Yeah, I think you'd be charming together," said Annabelle, reaching around Sirius to give Remus's shoulder a little rub. She hated that he had been so uncomfortable with the question, but Remus smiled a little now that his admission had been met with approval and not laughter.

"Okay, moving on… Sirius." Johnny B. couldn't conceal his smile. Sirius had already figured out Johnny's agenda, and he grinned, knowing what was coming.

"Truth or dare, and you'd better say truth."

"Well, I wouldn't say dare and risk getting yet another detention, so truth," Sirius replied.

"How many times have you kissed Annabelle this year?"

Everyone looked puzzled by the question.

"What a waste of a question," mumbled Peter.

"Shhh, Peter. Let him answer," scolded Johnny B. "Come on, how many times?"

Sirius shook his head and said, "That's a tough one to answer because if I'd been counting, I'd have lost track by now."

There was a momentary lull while what he said hit home, and then came the reaction Johnny B. had eagerly anticipated.

Lily jerked her head toward Annabelle, "Have you and Sirius been kissing each other?"

"What in the world," Alice said, glancing at Sirius, like she wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly.

"Merlin's bloody beard, I knew it," said James.

"I caught them red handed, or red lipped rather, right outside," Johnny B. informed them all.

"Why didn't you tell Alice and me?" Lily asked giddily. "You knew we'd be happy for you!"

"I know," she said in a quiet voice to Lily. "But with James, and you've been so sad…"

"True, but I can still be excited for you! When did this start?"

Alice piped up, "Yeah, when did this start? I am dying to know the answer to this one."

Remus answered for them. "The night we sneaked out and went to Moore's. Am I right?"

"You saw?" Annabelle asked, completely blindsided.

"Apparently I was the only one sober enough to be paying any attention."

"That long?" said Lily. "I can't believe you kept it a secret that long."

"They are good secret keepers," James said. "That's for sure."

"Are you a couple now?" Lily whispered to her again.

Annabelle nodded, making a face at Lily that implied utter embarrassment and the dire need to change the subject.

"Okay, let's move on, now. It's someone else's turn," said Lily, glad to help get the spotlight off of her self-conscious friend and Sirius, who didn't seem embarrassed at all, then whispered to her, "We are going to get the details later, my cheeky Annie."

"Eh. I didn't really want to play that juvenile game," said Johnny B. "It was just a device to expose these lovebirds' secret."

"Well, I still want my turn," said James.

"And I purposely skipped_ you_ and Fairfax because I knew you'd pick dare and the game would be over before it started," said Johnny B. "But if you really want a turn, truth or dare."

"Dare, of course," he said. Sirius and Remus were already laughing, knowing Johnny B. would come up with something absolutely ridiculous and that James would actually do it.

Johnny B. thought for a moment and said, "Okay. I dare you to hop up on the table and yell out '_I love pumpkin juice!_' then guzzle the whole pitcher of juice, right down to the last rusty drop, all while standing up there, gyrating your hips in a circle."

Now everyone was laughing and he hadn't even done it yet. James, never one to turn down a dare, climbed up onto the table. Johnny B. handed him the pumpkin juice.

"If I get a detention for this you will be wearing a pitcher of pumpkin juice, just so you know," he told Johnny B., who wasn't swayed by James' idle threats.

"I think this game is finally going to end," said Alice, noticing McGonagall looking their way.

James cleared his throat, but started laughing again.

"Just do it," urged Johnny B. Students had begun looking over, a few even hooted at him, encouraging him to perform. He cleared his throat again.

"I… LOVE… PUMPKIN JUICE!" he called out authoritatively, and as Johnny B. instructed, gulped down the entire pitcher while gyrating his hips like he was rotating an invisible hula hoop. He added a loud burp at the end for effect.

Everyone was doubled over laughing, hardly breathing, tears rolling down their faces, as he hopped down casually, like he did this type of thing all the time, and sat back down. Others students were laughing as well and some just stared like they were puzzled by it. Hagrid was chuckling from the front of the room, shaking his head as if to say, _"Those crazy kids!_" Even Lily was laughing. She couldn't help it. James timidly regarded her from across the table, happy to see her happy.

Just then McGonagall walked by. As she passed, she uttered in a voice only their group could hear, "Twenty points from Gryffindor."

This put a stop to their mirth, but only for a moment. As soon as they made eye contact with each other, it began again.

"At least it's not another detention," Remus said.

"Cheers to that," agreed James, holding up the empty pumpkin juice pitcher in a mock toast.

Annabelle caught Johnny B.'s eye and she smiled at him. He had been right. It was an interesting way to end their secret. He winked and smiled back.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

That Saturday was their next Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. It had taken three hours for her to catch the snitch during their first match with them. Annabelle hoped it didn't take as long this time. She wanted the game to end fast so she could hang out with Sirius. She still sometimes felt like it couldn't be real, not necessarily because he was thee Sirius Black, gorgeous Quidditch god, but because saying they had not even liked each other two and a half months ago was an understatement. She never thought they would have a conversation, let alone be friends. And now he was her boyfriend? It was a lot to wrap her mind around. She couldn't get enough of him though, especially since they were official and what not. It made her feel so much less like tawdry Dominica now that they were a proper couple. As far as Annabelle was concerned, the sooner the game ended, the sooner she could be in his arms.

Just before the game, she found herself getting a tad wistful. Standing in their station, watching this crew of gorgeous boys psyching themselves up for the match, she couldn't help but feel pure adoration for all of them. They had managed to endear themselves to her in spite of her previous assumption that they were all just dumb jocks, and she felt privileged to be standing there with them and to call herself their teammate. What started out as a crazy idea had turned into a most surprising adventure. She still wasn't keen on playing Quidditch; she didn't think she ever would be, but she could never intentionally let them down now.

Then she heard the crowd roar which signaled that the other team had taken the pitch, and her stomach gave its customary lurch, pulling her out of her reverie. _Please don't barf, please don't barf, please don't barf_, she begged herself, still humiliated over puking before their first game of the season.

Fairfax put his hand on her back and said, "You alright, Annabelle?"

"Annie," Johnny B. said. "Relax. This is a breeze, remember?"

Sirius smiled because this was just her thing apparently. It was no longer a Quidditch match if Annabelle wasn't there, frozen in her shoes looking like a deer in headlights.

He came up behind her and gave her a quick shoulder rub, saying in her ear, "It's just a game, Annabelle. Win or lose, it's just a game."

She nodded and swallowed nervously, and then they took the pitch.

Thirty minutes later, after Gryffindor scored several times against Ravenclaw, but before Ravenclaw could manage to get even one quaffle into the hoops past Sirius, Annabelle caught the snitch. It was the fastest game of all the houses that season. She almost felt bad about catching it so soon, like the crowd wanted more, but she saw her chance and she took it. Again, relief flooded over her, especially since she had not been required to stand on her broom to get the job done. Of course, getting a mid-air kiss from the keeper was a great perk to catching the snitch.

Back in their station, after all the celebratory high-fives and well-dones, James caught her arm as the others were filing into the changing room and said, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," she said. "What's going on?"

He leaned against the wall opposite her and shook his head, looking down at his feet while he gathered his thoughts. Annabelle waited patiently, wondering if he was okay. He looked bereft, like someone told him his pet owl had died or something.

Finally, he picked his head up and said, "She hates me, doesn't she?"

It was about Lily, of course. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a tear in his eye. Or maybe it was sweat. No, it was a tear.

Annabelle shook her head and said, "No, James, no. I don't think she could ever hate you."

"I know why she dumped me. I mean, I understand why. It's just, I think I got scared, you know?"

"That's understandable," Annabelle assured him.

"But I was foolish to be scared. Because it's so much worse without her. It's like the lights went out and I'm just wandering around in the dark."

James Potter, a poet? This was not the James she knew standing before her now. "Aww, James, I wish you'd tell her that. She thinks you've moved on."

"With who?" he asked incredulously.

Annabelle gave him a look and he said, "Dominica? Are you for real? Without sounding indecent, she's definitely not my type if you know what I mean."

"It's just that she was hanging around you a lot, so Lily thought-" Annabelle tried to explain.

"I did not hook up with Dominica, I promise you," he said emphatically and she believed him. "She is a troublemaker; I see that. I am not as oblivious as you girls might think."

Annabelle was about to say she didn't think that he was, but he continued. "Just, when you see her, please give her this for me." He handed her an envelope. "And I know you will all read it, so don't influence her by laughing at it, okay?"

"I won't laugh," replied Annabelle, not denying that she'd be reading it later, since Lily would make her read it, and then they'd analyze the heck out of it for hours. "But, why can't you just talk to her about this?"

"I just want to get it all out there, you know. No interruptions, no fumbling for words…"

"Okay, I will give it to her after lunch. Is that good?"

"Perfect. And thanks, Annabelle."

"You're welcome," she said, and turned to go.

"One more thing," he said, walking over to face her as she turned back around. "I'm sorry I was an arse to you before, you know... for the last few years. I had a lot to learn about how to treat people, and it was wrong. And I'm not just saying that because you're going out with my best mate. I mean it."

"It's forgotten already," she said. "Turns out you're not as bad as I thought you were, so, it's alright." She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Just so you know, I think you are a kick-ass seeker, and I'm pleased to say, a friend."

"That means a lot to me coming from you, Captain."

"Don't let it go to your head, O'Neill. Don't want you getting arrogant about your talents. Pride cometh before a fall and all that."

She laughed, and said, "You have nothing to fear there, about the pride anyway. Not so sure about the fall."

He gave her a clumsy one-armed hug around the shoulder and they went to their respective changing rooms. Annabelle was beguiled by that conversation. She had always wondered what Lily saw in him. At least now she'd gotten a glimpse of the James her best friend loved so much. He was just a little puppy dog underneath all that bravado. Suddenly she found herself rooting for him, hoping he'd win the girl back.


	29. Dear Lily

"You really wanted that game to end fast, didn't you?" quipped Sirius as he lay in the grass next to Annabelle, enjoying the burst of warm weather one last time before winter shrouded the grounds in white.

"It meant more time with you, so yes," she said.

He turned over and kissed her cheek, then her nose, then her lips. He began to kiss her neck, since he was blind to anyone else but her in that moment. Other students were out and about, so they couldn't get too carried away unless they wanted an audience, and while Sirius was used to people staring at him for a variety of reasons, Annabelle was not.

"Behave yourself, Mr. Black," she said in her best imitation of Professor McGonagall. "Or I will have to paddle you." She reached behind him and gave his bum a smack.

"You are only encouraging me with your questionable behavior, Miss O'Neill. Ten points from Gryffindor for that."

Annabelle laughed and said, "If that's the case, then I think Gryffindor might have negative points by the time this year is over."

"I hope so," he teased, as he brushed her hair off her forehead and kissed her again.

"Hey, you two, come up for air! It's lunchtime!" Johnny B. called from not too far away where he and Remus had been tossing a frisbee back and forth.

"We'd better go. I have to give Lily something anyway," said Annabelle. They reluctantly pried themselves off each other and made their way to the Great Hall.

After lunch, Annabelle hustled Lily and Alice up to their room. No one else was in there, so Annabelle thought it was the perfect place to give Lily the letter, away from busybodies that might be lurking about.

"What's going on?" Lily asked as she sat on her bed next to Alice.

"Okay," began Annabelle. "I was asked if I would deliver this letter to you." She handed it to Lily.

Lily looked at the envelope with her name scrawled over the front and recognized the handwriting instantly.

"James," she said, looking up.

Annabelle nodded. "He pulled me aside after the game. He seemed really down, Lil."

"He's writing letters, now? Why can't he just talk to me?" she asked.

"Oddly enough, I asked him that. He said he wanted to get it all out, without interruptions or fumbling for words."

"Open it, Lily," said Alice. "This ought to be very interesting."

"One more thing," said Annabelle. "If you decide to share it with us, which I know you will, there is no laughing permitted. I think whatever is in that letter is pretty important to him, so just keep that in mind."

Lily nodded thoughtfully and walked over to a window to read the letter. Annabelle and Alice waited patiently. When she was finished she turned back toward the girls with tears in her eyes.

"Well? What did he say?" Alice asked.

Lily came over, tossed her the letter, and sat down next to Annabelle.

"Shall I read it out loud?" Alice asked.

"Yes, please," said Annabelle, unable to stand the suspense, but then asked Lily, "Are you okay with that?"

Lily nodded and wiped her tear-streaked face on her sleeve. Alice began to read:

**_Dear Lily,_**

**_Here goes nothing. I am writing you a love letter. Before you start laughing and telling all your friends how absurd I am, please, just read it all the way through._**

**_I've been a knobhead. A total and complete imbecile. I know this, Lily, and I am ashamed of it. Let me elaborate. I have wanted to be with you for so long. Sometimes I thought you felt the same. But I was always the problem. I don't think I was ready. I didn't have a clue how to be a proper boyfriend to you, a boyfriend you deserve. _**

**_It's hard going from a carefree kid, running around and getting into trouble with your mates, to being almost done with school and aware of how things change when that happens. There are a lot of scary things going on in the world right now and part of me would like to never face them. I am sure most of us feel the same about this._**

Here, all three girls nodded in empathy as Alice continued.

**_Then you finally decided to give me a real chance. You saw something in me that made me worthy of your time, attention, and love. I am going to be completely honest here. I panicked. Being in a real relationship with this smart, beautiful, caring girl made me feel so unsure of myself. It was wrong of me to brush you off in Hogsmeade. It was wrong to ignore you at Moore's and then punish Caradoc for paying attention to you. I should have been thrilled that you called me "sweetie" instead of embarrassed and cruel about it. I wanted to hang onto to the past, while keeping you waiting in the wings in case I had an epiphany of some sort and suddenly figured out what I was doing. Now I know that's not how it works. All the while, I knew you deserved better; someone who didn't just play at relationships, but I couldn't let you go. I still can't let you go. And I don't think I ever will._**

**_I know you need time, and I probably do, too. But it kills me knowing you think badly of me, that you regret me somehow. I hate being the person that hurt you and I regret not giving you my whole heart, the way you gave me yours. I wanted to, I really did. I still do, Lily. My heart has always been yours for the taking and it always will be. Instead of pushing you away, I should have opened up to you, told you my fears, and maybe we could have faced the future together. I hope there is some part of you that still loves me, because I am lost without you._**

**_All my love,_**

**_James_**

No one spoke for a minute. Alice and Annabelle now had tears in their eyes as well, and Lily sniffled.

Finally, Alice said, "Wow."

Lily nodded, then looked to Annabelle for a reaction.

"Wow indeed," Annabelle said. "Bless his heart. That had to be so hard for him."

"Do you think he wrote it himself?" asked Lily.

"Yes," said Annabelle emphatically.

"You do? Because if he did then what the heck am I going to do about it?"

"He did write it. I have no doubt," affirmed Annabelle, as she remembered her conversation with James the Poet, wandering in the dark.

"Well, I certainly don't feel like laughing at it, so he's safe there," said Alice. "That really changes things, doesn't it?"

"I don't know. I have to think about this. I mean, he pretty much said what I had been hoping he'd say while we were together. Like, maybe he gets it now," she said. "But then again, if I get my hopes up, and he still pushes me out… I don't think I can go through it again."

Annabelle didn't know what to say. He had completely opened up in the letter. Everything they'd speculated over in regards to his waffling back and forth with Lily was confirmed by James himself. He admitted he was scared, but that he wanted to let her in. It all sounded legitimate to Annabelle, so much so that she was tempted to tell Lily to take him back. Give him another chance. But she knew Lily was scared now, too; scared of having her heart dragged through the mud again. It was complicated.

"I think you should just sleep on it," said Alice. "Maybe sleep on it for a few nights, or a week, or as long as you need."

"But I can't just ignore it," Lily said. "I have to acknowledge the letter, don't I?"

"You can talk to him about it. Tell him you read it, but you just need time. Meanwhile, you can start talking to him again at least. Be friends. You'll figure it out eventually," offered Annabelle.

Lily nodded. "That's a good plan." Then she sat up straight, wiped her tears, and composed herself. "I'm going to find him right now. Put him out of his misery."

The boys were in the courtyard when the girls found them. Sirius and James were now playing with the frisbee, a muggle toy that they had pilfered from the Muggle Studies classroom years ago. They had charmed it to make it go superfast when thrown, which added an aspect of danger and difficulty to the game. Annabelle almost didn't want to step onto the grass for fear of her head being cut off by it.

When James saw Lily standing back from the other girls who had gone to sit down with their friends, he tossed the frisbee back to Sirius and jogged over to meet her. They decided to go talk somewhere private.

"Catch, Annabelle," said Sirius, as he threw the frisbee to her. She screamed like she'd seen a doxy as the frisbee sliced through the air, but she managed to reach out and catch it before it could hit her.

"That's our seeker! She catches snitches, she catches frisbees. What can't she catch?" announced Johnny B.

"A break from extreme wizarding sports, apparently," she replied. "That thing could have decapitated me!"

Sirius was cracking up. It always amused him how easily she startled. "Is a frisbee decapitating you anything like a doxy taking your face off?"

"Yes, because they are both things I'd like to avoid," she replied matter-of-factly, leering at Sirius who winked at her in return. "I have already reached my danger quota for the year, so who wants this thing?"

"I'll try it," said Alice, who was always up for trying something new.

"It would just bounce off your head, Annabelle, maybe even give you a concussion, but it's edges are too dull to decapitate you," explained Peter.

"Well, that's good to know," she said, humouring him and trying not laugh at how earnestly he could talk about frisbees bouncing off of heads as she carefully handed Alice the magical frisbee.

Alice was terrible at catching it, but great at throwing it. Sirius actually missed it a few times in order to dodge it, she was throwing it so hard.

"Alice, be gentle. You could decapitate me!" he teased.

Annabelle smiled and rolled her eyes. Suddenly Johnny B.'s hand was on her arm. She looked at him but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at a pair of girls entering the courtyard from the grounds. One of them was Claire Shaw. Remus had also noticed her.

Johnny B. turned to Annabelle and whispered, "We need to get her attention."

"We can't do that. He will die of humiliation," she responded. But Johnny B. didn't think so because he called out to her.

"Claire!" he blurted out loudly, but looked away with a straight face so that when she turned her head to see who was calling her name, she was confused. Annabelle elbowed him in the side. She could tell Claire was now wondering if she was hearing things as she and her friend looked away.

"Shut up, Johnny B." Remus whispered sharply.

"Go talk to her then!" Johnny B. exclaimed.

"Would you please stop-" Remus blustered, but Johnny B. did it again.

"Claire!"

Annabelle whispered to him, "What are you doing? Stop it _now_!"

"Just trust me, Annie."

The girls stopped again and looked their way. Annabelle's jaw dropped when they started walking toward them. Sirius and Alice stopped throwing the frisbee so the girls could make their way across the yard without being decapitated, and decided to follow behind them so as not to miss Johnny B.'s latest show.

"I'm sorry," said Claire, "but I keep thinking I'm hearing my name." She was so pretty with her big brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and wavy brown hair held back from her face with a simple black headband. She reminded Annabelle of a princess in a muggle cartoon she used to watch as a child.

No one said a word. Remus was turning beet red again, and acting like he wanted to speak, but the situation was so awkward that he was at a loss for words. Annabelle could tell Claire was becoming uncomfortable, so she discreetly pinched Johnny B. in an attempt to get him to finish what he started.

"Oh, I think that was me," he said, feigning embarrassment. "I have a very violent way of sneezing and it might have sounded like I said your name."

Claire laughed a little but she still looked unsure if she was being mocked or not. She glanced at her friend who just shrugged like she also didn't know what was going on.

"What's your name?" Johnny B. said.

"Claire," she replied shyly.

"Yeah, that was definitely me sneezing," he said, and proceeded to demonstrate a violent sneeze that sounded like he was gruffly hollering the word Claire. "See, that's probably what you heard."

Annabelle could not make eye contact with anyone at that moment, because she was trying so hard not to laugh that it hurt, and she knew instinctively that the others were having the same problem. All it would take was one look at any of them and they'd be in stitches, except for Remus, who she imagined was plotting Johnny B.'s demise at that moment.

Johnny B. continued on though, unrattled. "So, Claire, what's your friend's name?"

"This is Emily," she said.

"I have a sister named Emily," he lied. "This muppet next to me is Annabelle, those two rascals over there are Sirius and Alice, this freak right here is Peter, and next to him is our ruggedly handsome but deeply sensitive Remus. And I'm Johnny B. Enchanted to meet you," he said holding out his hand to shake theirs.

Annabelle gave a slight wave, still trying to avoid prolonged eye contact, as did the others. Remus was the only one to look her directly in the eyes, and when he smiled at her, she smiled back.

"So, have you ever played Speed Frisbee?" Johnny B. asked, hooking his arm through Annabelle's and standing up, dragging her up with him.

"No," she answered, still nervous.

"We were all just going to play, right? Not you Remus, you've played enough today. Come on, Peter, you've been wanting to play all day."

"I have?" Peter asked.

"Yes! You have," Johnny B. replied through gritted teeth. Peter got up reluctantly and Johnny B. pretended to do a head count. "Right, we need one more player. Come on, Emily. You are going to love this!" And he grabbed Emily by the hand, ushering her onto the grass.

Remus stood up like the gentleman that he was while Claire sat down next to where he'd been sitting. Then he sat down next to her, and told her he was pleased to meet her.

Johnny B. quickly divided them into teams, Sirius, Annabelle, and Emily on one side, Johnny B., Alice, and Peter on the other. After briefly explaining the rules he was making up as he went along, they played "Speed Frisbee" as best as they could. It was pathetic, really, and it ended up a match between the two most athletic players; Johnny B. and Sirius.

"This stinks. You two keep hogging the frisbee," said Peter. "I'm going to play chess. Anyone want to play chess? Emily? Chess?" Annabelle was surprised that Peter was taking some initiative to help the greater cause by removing Emily from the equation. Or maybe he actually liked her. It was hard to tell with Peter.

Emily shrugged again, and said, "Sure. I play chess."

"Of course you play chess. You're in Ravenclaw," Peter said as Emily told Claire where she was going. Remus and Claire looked like they were hitting it off, as they were deep in conversation.

"Johnny B. strikes again," said Sirius wryly. "There's always a method to your madness."

"About time you recognized that fact," Johnny B. replied.

They tossed the speed frisbee around a little longer, even inviting Claire and Remus to join them when they thought she might be feeling like she'd overstayed her welcome. James and Lily reappeared and James immediately joined in while Annabelle bowed out to talk to Lily.

"You were gone for quite a while," said Annabelle.

"We talked. A lot. He cried a little, Annabelle. I mean, I have never seen him like this. Ever."

"Did it end well?"

"It ended with us agreeing to be friends for now, and seeing what happens. No pressure, but no more silence either. He promised I wouldn't be disappointed in him again. I want so much to believe him."

"Time will tell," said Annabelle. "But I can see he already looks to be in better spirits. I predict that he won't let you down again."

"I hope you're right, because it took all my willpower not to grab him and kiss him," she lamented. "By the way, is that Claire Shaw?"

"Yep," said Annabelle. "Long story."

"Let's rescue her from that possessed frisbee. Alice, Claire, come here!"

They all sat together, getting to know Claire, or getting their claws into her as Johnny B. would say, while the boys played frisbee until the sun went down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After dinner that night, as they were all leaving the Great Hall, Elsinore called Sirius over to her.

He shook his head at her, but she persisted.

"Please, just a quick word," she called.

Annabelle narrowed her eyes, but in an effort to show she wasn't threatened, said, "Go ahead. See what she's plotting now."

Sirius sighed, but walked over to see what she wanted.

The rest of them stood at the base of the stairs waiting for him, pretending not to pay attention. James kept looking around to see if it was a setup of some sort, as though he thought Malachi might make an appearance. Annabelle glanced at them, and from Elsinore's posture she could already see what she was up to. She was playing it sweet and innocent, probably falsely apologizing, while he stood there patiently listening. She saw him shake his head and say something, then he walked away from her, rejoining Annabelle and heading up the stairs.

"What did she want?" Annabelle asked.

"You don't want to know."

"Now I really want to know," she said. "You're not going to tell us?"

"You have to tell us," said Lily, feeling hurt for Annabelle's sake.

"I don't want anyone to get upset if I tell you. She's a moral deviant and this is just how she operates."

"We won't chase her down to hex her if that is what you are implying," said Alice.

"Fine. Fine. I will tell you when we get upstairs," he said.

When they reached the landing by the portrait hole, they stopped.

"Okay, tell us," said Lily, figuring it best not to talk about it inside the common room, as it would be full of students, specifically Dominica.

"She said she was sorry, and that she never wanted for me to get involved in the fight, and that she wished she hadn't gotten involved either-" he began.

"The fight that she and Dominica _caused_," interjected Lily angrily.

"I _know _that," Sirius said. "I am just repeating what she said. Do you want me to finish?"

Lily nodded.

"She said she didn't know the whole story about Dominica, she just thought Dominica was in danger. She asked if I was upset with her."

"What did you say?" asked Lily.

"I told her she was sick in the head, and to stay out of my business and away from my friends. Especially my girlfriend. Then I walked away."

"Psycho. Tell her to fuck off next time she tries to talk to you," suggested Johnny B.

"Trust me, I will," replied Sirius.

Annabelle found it jarring that Elsinore was still attempting to wriggle her way back into Sirius's life. He couldn't have been more accurate in calling her sick in the head. She was glad he responded the way he did, but she still felt foolish that her boyfriend's ex and friend of the family was bold enough to approach him right in front of her. Annabelle momentarily envisioned hunting her down and cursing her straight through a stained-glass window. Of course, she wouldn't, but it was tempting.

Sirius approached her as the others went in through the portrait hole.

"Annabelle, what are you thinking?" he asked her cautiously.

"Just that I wish she would go away," she said.

"That makes two of us," he replied. "But she won't succeed in whatever she's plotting."

So many girls wanted Sirius. Annabelle knew this, since it had always been that way. She wasn't bothered by it, because if he had wanted to be with any of them, he would have been. Elsinore was different. She was fixated on him. With her it was more than a crush, more than a lustful longing from afar. She really believed he was meant to be hers, their families intermingling and gaining power through them, living the pure-blood dream. Sirius's own parents were probably already planning their wedding. The fact that she was clearly a maniac made Annabelle worry over what lengths she would go to in order to get her way.

"Annabelle, look at me. If we stick together, they won't be able to hurt us. It's only because she knows my family that she's enlisted herself to do their bidding, same as Malachi," he said. "It won't work, alright?"

She nodded, still fraught with apprehension.

"We should go finish our lab assignment," she said, and headed toward the portrait hole.

"Wait, Annabelle. Don't walk away. I_ knew_ I shouldn't have talked to her," he admonished himself, grabbing her hand and touching his forehead to hers. "Please, I can't fight them without you. Nothing is going to come between us, okay?"

She nodded, feeling tears forming in her eyes, and quietly said, "Nothing."

Just then Alice peeked her head out and said, "Please come in. We keep thinking the worst could happen with those toerags about and you both out here alone."

Sirius said, "You're right. We are right behind you." And after a quick kiss, they followed Alice through the portrait hole.


	30. Clueless

That next Saturday was the third trip to Hogsmeade, and the first one of the year in which Sirius and Annabelle were able to participate, since they avoided detention this time. Everyone had warned them to keep their mouths shut in class and stay out of trouble for the entire week leading up to the trip, and miraculously they succeeded.

Hogsmeade itself hadn't changed much since last year. It was still a small village with little to do but buy candy and other junk, and hang out in a pub or a tea shop with staff members. When they were younger it had been more exciting, especially the joke shop, but it had lost its lustre this year. Alice was the only one eager to be there, since Frank would be there to see her. The two disappeared into a secluded booth at the Three Broomsticks and didn't emerge until it was time to return to the castle. Caradoc and Fairfax, along with a few others had spent the day there as well, trying to convince Madame Rosmerta to serve them Firewhiskey and flirting with her, even though she was a bit older and uninterested, but flattered by the attention nonetheless.

The rest of them went to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, since the weather had turned cold again and tea seemed like the better option on a cold day than Butter Beer, which was kind of gross anyway. Lily and James were doing quite well as friends. He was giving her space, and she was enjoying the mild flirtation without any pressure. They felt like they were getting to know each other again.

Septima Scroggie entered after them with a few of her close friends. She stopped by to say hello and then thankfully went to sit at another table. Not only was she annoying, but she was following Dominica around a lot these days, so Annabelle figured she was also pathetically misguided. After she sat down with her friends, Lily glanced at Annabelle and rolled her eyes.

"Crikey, Peter, would you like some tea with your sugar?" asked Johnny B., as he watched Peter put at least six heaping spoonfuls into his cup.

"This is how I like it, so shut it," Peter snapped back.

"Touchy, touchy. What is your problem?" asked James.

"Wait, let me guess," Sirius said. "Emily told you to get stuffed because you told some foul joke in front of her."

"Wrong. She is obsessed with me. I mean it. She keeps having her friends pass me notes in the hall. She wants to play chess every single night. I can't get rid of her."

"Oh, Peter," said Johnny B. shaking his head and laughing. "You heartbreaker, you. I hope you're being respectful at least. We wouldn't want Remus to be a victim of guilt by association."

Remus blushed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing he was talking about Claire being friends with Emily, but he didn't say anything.

Just then, Claire and Emily walked into the tea shop.

"Speak of the devil," said Johnny B.

The girls saw them and timidly approached their table.

"Hi Remus," said Claire, smiling shyly. Annabelle flinched at how awkward it was between them. It was painful to watch, because they obviously liked one another. He got up and fumbled for a few more chairs and they sat down. Emily waved at Peter, but acted nothing like the obsessed stalker he had made her out to be.

"Well, I'm going to join my fellow singletons in the pub," said Johnny B., as he stood up and put his coat on, then added cheekily, "All you lovebirds enjoy your tea."

"No, don't go," Annabelle said, getting up and following him to the door. She thought maybe he was feeling like the odd man out being the only without a love interest present. "We just got here. Why are you leaving?"

"Someone has to protect Madame Rosmerta from those plonkers. And I want to make sure Alice and Frank don't run away together," he said, trying to joke, a melancholy filling his icy blue eyes.

"We'll come with you, just let us get our coats," Annabelle offered, not wanting him to feel lonesome.

"No, Annie, you stay. I'm fine! Just fill me in on the gossip later," he said, and exited into the frosty air.

Annabelle frowned and sat back down. She noticed Remus and Claire weren't talking as much as they had when they first met. Where was Johnny B. when you needed him? Claire and Remus were both so painfully introverted that Annabelle wished he'd ask her to go for a walk so they wouldn't feel so self-conscious in front of everyone. It must have been extra intimidating for her sitting there with all of them, since they were a year ahead of her and not in the same house. Peter was talking Emily's ear off, and she looked bored.

Finally, Emily said, "I think I'm going to head over to Honeydukes. Claire, do you want to join me?"

"Sure," she answered. "Would you like to come, too?" she asked Remus meekly.

"Okay, sure," he said while nodding, then looked to the others with a tiny grin. He got up, helped Claire with her coat, grabbed his, and headed for the exit.

"I'm coming, too! Wait for me," called Peter as he downed his tea, grabbed his coat, and clumsily took off after them.

"Has he lost the plot?" Annabelle asked, referring to Peter. "Or was he just taking the mick with that whole story he told us?" She wasn't sure what to make of him and his strange ways.

"One never knows with Peter," replied James.

A little while later and after second cups of tea, Annabelle yawned and rested her head on Sirius's shoulder as he draped his arm around her and rested his head on hers. Lily and James talked quietly to each other for a bit, but they kept being startled by Septima and her friends whose conversation involved a lot of intermittent cackling. It was so piercingly loud when it happened that it was becoming unbearable.

"Oi! Turn down the volume!" James called over to them, but they didn't hear him over the sound of their own voices.

"How about we head over to the Three Broomsticks?" suggested Lily. "I feel like we should check in on the others anyway. Madame Rosmerta has probably had enough."

The four of them put on their coats, and headed toward the door. Sirius had just taken Annabelle's hand when Rowan Summerby, a seventh-year Hufflepuff and Annabelle's former crush, walked in with a few others. His girlfriend, Darcy, was nowhere to be seen. Annabelle didn't know him. She just knew of him really, and had worshiped him from afar for years, which was why she was taken aback when he spoke to her as they were passing each other.

"Hi, Annabelle," he said, smiling at her.

Annabelle felt her face burning as she replied with a very bewildered sounding, "Hi?" She gave her head a confused shake once she'd passed him.

"You know him, Annabelle?" Sirius asked her as they exited the tea shop and started walking.

"No. That's why I was surprised he spoke to me," she answered honestly, glancing at Lily who nodded discreetly in approval of her answer. She didn't really _know_ him.

"Maybe he's a fan. She is the Seeker for the greatest Quidditch team at Hogwarts," said James. Once upon a time, Annabelle would have found that an arrogant thing to say about his own team, but now she actually agreed. They were the greatest.

"Maybe you should've given him your autograph," suggested Sirius in a derisive tone. Lily had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh at this jealous side of Sirius.

Annabelle chuckled nervously; still taken aback that Rowan had spoken to her. Even more fascinating was how little she actually cared. A few months ago she probably would have been euphoric that he'd acknowledged her existence. Now, it meant nothing. Sirius was the real thing, and so much more than she had ever allowed herself to imagine.

"Annabelle!" an obnoxious voice rang out from behind them, and they glanced over their shoulders to see Septima and her friends rushing over to them.

When she reached them she pushed in between Annabelle and Sirius and said to Annabelle, "Did I just see Rowan Summerby say hi to you? You must have loved him forever! Figures he talks to you after you have a boyfriend!"

Annabelle wanted to punch her in her big, loud gob.

"Septima, are you deranged?" Lily asked her, disgusted at this idiotic girl's audacity.

"What? Did I say something untrue?" Septima asked with wide eyes, exaggerating her words.

"We'll be on our way now, Septima," Annabelle said, unsure if Septima was really that flaky and bizarre or if there was something she was missing about the encounter. Something didn't add up.

"Okay, ta!" Septima trilled and scurried off into a store with her friends.

Annabelle glanced at Sirius as they continued walking. He was looking straight ahead, hands in his pockets, but didn't say anything. Nobody said anything at all until they arrived at the Three Broomsticks.

"Annabelle, wait for second?" he said, as Lily and James went inside.

She turned to him, knowing what was coming.

"Why'd you lie and say you didn't know him?" he asked, sounding a touch hurt.

"I didn't lie. I don't know him. I had a silly, meaningless crush on him from a distance. That's all," she explained. "That's the first time he ever spoke to me."

He looked at her like he was trying to figure her out, but then looked away, feeling foolish.

"Really, Sirius," she said, taking his hand and gently pulling him over to her. When he still didn't speak, she said, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I don't like this Rowan Summerby very much," he replied, but managed to smile after he said it. He was trying not to be the jealous boyfriend, even though he had noticed the way Rowan had looked at her. Chances were this Rowan fellow knew Sirius was her boyfriend, since the whole school seemed to know. They'd even been holding hands, which made the tosser very brave to be flirty with Annabelle in front of him. He had resisted the impulse to pound some manners into him, but wasn't so sure he'd hold back if he approached her again.

"I'd forgotten all about him, actually," she said softly, as she brushed a lock of hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. Merlin, he was beautiful, she thought as he finally looked her in the eyes. "It's hard to notice anyone else when Sirius Black is right in front of you."

He brushed the tip of his nose against hers and gently stroked her cheek, kissing her at first lightly on the lips, then deeply and more intensely as she wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her close. They didn't stop until the door to the Three Broomsticks opened and they heard a throat clearing loudly. They opened their eyes to see Professor Slughorn leaving the pub, looking uncomfortable as he passed.

"Cheers, Professor!" called Sirius after him, arms still tight around Annabelle as she giggled and shushed him. Slughorn gave a wave of his hand without looking at them as he walked away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Gryffindor had two more Quidditch matches left for the season, and winter decided to arrive at the end of November. It snowed for days, making practice miserable. They were still trying to help Annabelle master standing on her broom, which was even harder for her when weighed down with multiple layers of heavy clothing in order to keep warm. The snow was making her broom slippery, so she could barely even get her footing and she'd slip and fall. It was maddening, but they insisted she keep trying. The next game was against Hufflepuff, and they already knew their Seeker could perform the feat, as he had demonstrated in their first match with them. If they beat Hufflepuff again, they would gain a huge point advantage over Slytherin. If they lost, then the final match with Slytherin was going to be do or die, she knew it.

Sirius was the only one not keen on pushing her, for obvious reasons, so the others just mollified him but inevitably ignored his protests when he thought she was flying too high or too fast. Someone was always there to catch her if she missed her broom going down, but Sirius knew this wouldn't be the case in a real game. Madame Hooch was on the pitch during games, wand in hand to cushion any falls, but there had been a few near misses in the past when tragedy had been a split second from occurring. He could see Annabelle becoming stressed out over it, and the longer they drilled her, the more unstable on the broom she seemed to become.

"I think she's done for today," Sirius said to James. "This is too much pressure for her. It would be too much pressure for anyone."

James sighed. "You have to turn off the boyfriend switch when we're out here, mate, because you are just going to make yourself crazy over every little slip, fall, or scream. I say that as a friend," he offered.

"One doesn't need to be her boyfriend to see that this is becoming futile," argued Sirius. "Look at her. She's shaking from the cold, or possibly fear. She's soaking wet from the snow and the wind is picking up making it difficult to fly straight, let alone stand on a slippery broom. Haven't we all had enough for today?"

"She's making you soft, mate," James teased. "But, I see your point. Maybe she needs a break. I'm freezing my bollocks off, too."

James ended practice but reminded them that they would be meeting again in the morning, snow or not. Annabelle was so cold her whole body shook, and her hair was matted against her face from the wet snow. She felt like she'd fallen in the icy lake and couldn't wait to get back to the dorm to take a long hot shower. The boys all looked and felt equally as pitiful, so no one was sorry to see practice end.

Students' heads turned when the team entered the common room, gawking at the state they were in. Remus, Lily, Alice, and Peter were at a study table playing Exploding Snap, mainly because the seventh-years had claimed the sofa and chairs by the fire before they could.

"Aren't you a shambolic lot," said Peter. "Tell me again what makes Quidditch fun?"

"Bugger off, Peter," Fairfax said, heading for the boys' dormitory.

"Be back down in a bit," James said, as he and Sirius followed with the rest of them.

Before heading upstairs to the girls' dorm, Annabelle asked Lily and Alice, "Is the hag up there?"

"Haven't seen her all day, but you never know with that barmy crone," answered Alice.

"Lorelei is up there though, so if the harpy happens to materialize, you'll be safe. You know Lorelei won't tolerate any shenanigans," Lily replied. "Do you want one of us to come with you just in case?"

"No, it's alright." Annabelle replied, and trudged up the stairs.

"Yup, I think they've managed to call her every insult for a witch in the book," observed Peter.

"Don't be so sure," replied Remus, who couldn't help but laugh at the witchy name calling. "There's probably more where that came from."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What in the bloody hell happened to you?" asked Lorelei sternly as Annabelle entered the dorm room to grab a dry set of clothes, leaving puddles on the floor wherever she stood.

"Quidditch," droned Annabelle.

"Are you all off your fucking trollies? It's freezing out there!" Lorelei had a way of making the most innocent of queries sound and feel like a brutal assault.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," she said, then muttered under her breath so Lorelei couldn't hear, _"But thanks for stating the obvious."_

"You are all lunatics, if you ask me," she said.

"Okay, thanks," said Annabelle as she headed to the showers.

She took the longest shower she'd ever taken in her life. A few times her eyes closed like she was going to fall asleep on her feet. Reluctantly, she finally turned off the water, and grabbed her towel. As she was getting dressed, she heard the bathroom door open and the sink turn on and off again. Then a conversation began.

"So who do you think is the most gormless, gullible cow in Gryffindor?" asked Dominica.

"Easy one. Annabelle O'Neill," Septima answered.

"And why do you choose Annabelle?

"Because she thinks she's ace because she's on the Quidditch team, even though it makes the other boys treat her like a bloke. And because she thinks Sirius Black is in love with her when he really never got over Elsinore Collins and will dump her as soon as the season is over since the team will have no use for her anymore!"

Annabelle almost laughed out loud as she gathered her wet practice clothes from the floor. They clearly knew she was in there, and had staged the entire childish conversation. Septima sounded like she was reciting lines from a script it was so put on. No wonder they needed Elsinore's help, who even though she was a dangerous loon, was wily and shrewd, and would never stoop to this level of stupidity.

She stepped out of the shower stall and they feigned surprise, then smirked at her. She was about to walk out the door without giving them the satisfaction of engaging them, but she changed her mind and took a few steps toward them.

"Tell the truth, ladies. You are both so daft that you have to look in the mirror every morning to check if your eyes are open. Admit it," said Annabelle in a condescending tone. The girls furrowed their eyebrows, clearly missing the joke, but quickly tried to recover by snickering and exchanging glances that showed they thought Annabelle was the stupid one.

"That's what I thought," said Annabelle before flouncing out the door.

Annabelle had done a better job of acting unfazed than she actually was, though. It wasn't pleasant hearing those things said about her, even though she didn't think they were true. She also hated hearing them use Sirius's name in the same breath as the name Elsinore. She ran upstairs and finished getting ready, then bounded back down to the common room to tell Lily and Alice what had transpired. She changed her mind when she got there though, because the boys were back as well and she didn't want to get everyone riled up over some petty nonsense.

"We thought you drowned up there, Annie," said Johnny B. One of the playing cards exploded and she jumped.

Annabelle said, "I can't stand this game. Is it dinner time yet? I am starving."

"In about twenty minutes," Alice said.

Sirius had already joined in the card game, never able to resist an opportunity to compete. Remus was sitting on a bench near the rest of them, reading a book. Annabelle sat down next to him.

"Hi Annabelle," he said. "How was practice?"

"A nightmare," she replied glumly.

"How come?"

"They want me to stand on my broom. While speeding through the air. High above the ground. Tell me why I agreed to this again?"

"That's easy. Because you they needed you," he replied.

"Right," she said. "Sooo… how's Claire?"

He instantly turned red and shifted uncomfortably. Annabelle regretted asking.

"Sorry, Remus. Just tell me to mind my own business," she said, feeling awful that she made him uncomfortable.

"It's alright. You're just curious. I am guessing Claire is fine," he said, and looked back at his book.

"Have you talked to her since Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, once or twice."

"Well? Come on, Remus, what's going on with her?"

Remus closed his book. Annabelle thought for a moment that she'd upset him. After a pause, he looked her in the eyes.

"Annabelle, no offense, because I know you all mean well, but what do you think could come of Claire and me being together?" he asked quietly. "How long could it go on before I'd have to tell her what I am, and how long would it be until she bolted?"

Poor Remus. She hadn't really thought about it from that perspective, but figured it was a legitimate concern. She had never thought of Remus's condition as a deal breaker, maybe because it was just one of the many strange aspects of the magical world she came to accept, but she knew that some wizards misunderstood and judged werewolves to the point that many became outcasts from society. To her and the others, he was a friend who got really sick once a month. The rest of the time he was Remus. Level-headed, wise, shy, adorable Remus who always focused on everyone else's problems instead of his own. He had so much to offer someone like Claire. There had to be others out there like his friends that would see the person he was, not just his affliction. She hated to think of him going through life denying himself happiness for fear of rejection and ridicule.

"What if she didn't bolt?" she asked him. "What if she accepted it?"

"What if I accidentally mauled her? Or worse?" he asked.

"How would that happen? Are you suddenly going to stop taking precautions during full moons? Because so far, she's been safe all these years living in the same school with you."

"I'm not telling her. I hardly know her."

"I'm not suggesting you tell her. I think you should get to know her though. Give her a chance," suggested Annabelle.

"What, lead her on, then spring it on her later? 'Hey, Claire, your boyfriend turns into a dangerous monster once a month and he will for the rest of his life. Carry on, though.'" He hung his head morosely.

"Listen, no one tells people all their dark secrets when they first meet each other, you know what I mean? People get to know each other first. If you found that things were going somewhere with her, then you could tell her."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "It sounds simple, but it's not. What if she told people?"

"Then we will tell people she is the world's biggest liar. And of course we'll hex her," said Annabelle with a straight face.

Remus couldn't help but grin. "I actually believe that," he said. "But I'll think about it. If nothing else, I suppose I can still be friendly with her. It doesn't have to go any further."

"But it could…" she chirped in a sing-song voice.

"You people are relentless," he said, but that was it. Annabelle knew not to push him any further. Besides, it was dinner time.

On the way to the Great Hall, Annabelle told Lily and Alice what Dominica and Septima had done in the bathroom.

"I don't even know what to say," said Alice. "That is just so pitiful of them. So desperate."

"Desperate is an understatement," echoed Lily. "I hope you aren't letting them get to you Annabelle."

Annabelle replied, "No, I'm not," but sounded unconvincing.

"If you are taking anything they say to heart, then you _are_ gormless and gullible," scolded Alice.

"You forgot cow. I am a gormless and gullible cow," said Annabelle.

She knew they were right. It was ludicrous to think otherwise, she told herself. She refused to let anyone make her feel badly about herself. At dinner though, she could barely eat.

"I thought you were starving," said Alice, eyeing her suspiciously, knowing that she was still dwelling on Dominica and Septima's puerile insults.

"Lost my appetite," she replied.

Sirius looked at her and then at Alice, who knew Annabelle wouldn't want Sirius to know what had been said about her, so her face revealed nothing to him.

"Are you sick?" he asked, turning back to Annabelle. "I knew we kept you out in the cold too long."

She shook her head and replied, "It's not that. Just knackered is all."

But it was more than that, even though she'd never voice it. It was dread, taking its ghastly shape from deep within her. Something was going to happen, and she had no choice but to just stand by and wait for it.


	31. Seeds of Doubt

The last Saturday in November was their second to last Quidditch match of the year; a rematch with Hufflepuff. The first time they'd played them, Annabelle caught the Snitch because their Seeker had been thrown from his broom. He had been standing on it when a Bludger took him down. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had been practicing all week, and Annabelle had been at her wit's end trying to master that same technique. Knowing the opposing Seeker could actually do it only made her more distressed. During practice the day before, she finally managed to stand on her broom for a decent amount of time, but when she attempted to grab the Snitch, she slipped and went into a free fall like she had been doing every day. They boys had taken to carrying their wands during practice so they could cast Arresto Momentum on her to slow her falls. Someone always caught her, but they weren't used to dealing with a teammate falling repeatedly, and it was taking a toll on their nerves.

The morning of the game was cold and windy as expected, but the snowfall was light and wasn't supposed to pick up until the afternoon. They all seemed tense as they waited in their station for the game to start. Annabelle was trying to breathe deeply, but with little success, as she stood with her arms crossed in front of her, staring at nothing really. No one was talking and the only sounds were the nearby voices of the crowd, the occasional creak of a floorboard, and the whistling of the wind.

Sirius had told her before they left the castle not to stand up on her broom; that no one would mind if she didn't. He knew she was feeling the pressure to do it if she needed to though, since it had been the only thing she practiced for a week and they had been making such a big deal about it. All he could do was hope it was unnecessary, and that the Snitch would be caught quickly with little fuss. He no longer cared who caught it. He hated to admit it, but he just wanted the game to be over. He glanced at her, but she was looking ahead, still as a statue except for her breathing and a sporadic, anxious clenching of her jaw.

Once the game had begun, Annabelle remembered how much colder it was in the air, flying around in the frigid wind, than it was on the ground. Her eyes were watering from the icy gusts, making it hard to see at times, and soon she started to feel defeated. She guessed that if she was having problems due to the wind then Milo was, too. It was a long time before she saw the Snitch. She'd felt like it must have been an hour, and she'd been doing her best to trick Milo and avoid Bludgers. He tricked her good twice, but for some reason she felt hurt by it this time, like she had been made a fool of, even though it was part of the game and she had never taken it personally before. She told herself to toughen up and to stop being such a baby.

When she finally saw the Snitch, she just went for it, since Milo might have thought she was bluffing anyway. Of course a gust of wind slowed her down and they ended up just as they had last time, racing side by side, both about to touch it. It bobbed up above them and every time they would fly higher, the bloody snitch would fly higher.

That was when Milo slowly got to his feet on his broom and Annabelle froze. She leaned forward in an attempt to bring her foot up, but she was shaking too hard. She tried to move her legs but couldn't, in fact, she was so paralyzed with fear she thought they might have to pry the broom from her after the game. A Bludger whizzed past Milo and he wobbled a little losing the advantage momentarily, but he dodged it and regained his balance. He had been practicing too, apparently. She knew, even as she tried to fly higher that one more inch and he'd catch it. And then he did. The game was over.

She flew into their station first and immediately disappeared into her changing room, dragging her broom behind her. She wanted to curl up in her bed and just sleep until Christmas. And she didn't want to have to catch a Snitch ever again. It wasn't that she was a poor sport. She knew losing was part of the game and she knew she couldn't win them all. No, it wasn't the losing. It was that the team had worked tirelessly in the freezing cold to help her do one thing and one thing only, and she choked. She panicked and barely tried. She heard them all as they landed, their heavy steps on the floorboards, their deep voices subdued. She was trying to get dressed as fast as she could so she wouldn't have to face them. She knew she'd have to eventually, but for now she wanted to disappear with her shame.

"Annabelle? Are you over there?" she heard Johnny B. call.

Then she heard Sirius say something in a low voice to him, but she couldn't make out what it was.

She hated not to answer, but she felt like if she spoke, her voice would crack and betray her. She didn't want to see them. She walked as fast as she could to the exit, knowing they could hear her footsteps as the floor creaked beneath her, and she took off toward the castle alone in the deep, powdery snow, trailing along behind the remains of the crowd.

She'd trudged about twenty feet when she heard Sirius approaching behind her.

"Annabelle! Wait up!" he called, but she kept walking. She knew he'd catch up anyway.

About ten seconds later he fell in step beside her. She had her hands in her pockets and her scarf wrapped up to her eyeballs which made it hard to read her facial expressions, but her body language practically screamed _don't touch me_, so he didn't.

"Are you upset because we lost?" he asked.

"No," she answered flatly, feeling the lump rising in her throat.

"You're upset because you didn't stand on your broom?

"Yep."

"Why are you upset about that?"

"Because. I wasted everyone's time."

"Annabelle, no," he said tenderly, but his kindness only made it worse.

"Please, can we talk about it later?" she asked, hoping she could get to her room before she lost the battle with her tears. She was feeling all kinds of emotional these days, and now she just wanted to find Lily and Alice.

He sighed, but conceded.

"Okay, we'll talk later. I hope you don't mind but I'm still going to walk you to the common room."

"Okay," she replied.

A moment later, he changed his mind about the not talking about it.

"Stop walking for second, please, Annie?" He got in front of her and she stopped, looked down at her feet, and continued to try not to cry.

He took a step toward her and gently pulled her scarf down so he could see her face.

"It's okay, you know," he said. Just then Johnny B. caught up with them.

"No it's not," she said hoarsely. "It's okay for you because you're just being protective of me. But the others are probably fed up with me by now."

"Not true," said Johnny B. catching his breath. "I am assuming this about you not standing on your broom?"

Sirius nodded and Johnny B. said, "Annabelle, I don't think anyone really wanted you to stand on your broom today."

James , Caradoc, and Fairfax had almost caught up to them as well.

"James did," Annabelle replied.

"What did James do?" asked James.

"You wanted her to stand on her broom," Johnny B. said. "She thinks we're all fed up with her now."

"I was actually relieved when you didn't attempt it, believe it or not," James assured her. "Would it be nice if you were already skilled at it? Sure. But you aren't. It was too windy to chance it."

"It wasn't too windy for Milo," she said.

"Milo has been at it a lot longer than you," Fairfax explained. "He's been on that team for three years so he's had time to work on things. Last year, he still couldn't do that move, just so you know."

"I couldn't even move my legs. I thought I'd been paralyzed I was so frightened. What kind of Seeker am I? Why am I so sodding incompetent?" she demanded, tears starting to spill down her cheeks. "And how will we beat Slytherin in two weeks, with clumsy me the one responsible for the Snitch?" Lily or Alice would have immediately rushed to her side, offered words of comfort, and discussed the many reasons why shouldn't be talking like that. But these were boys, and they were all just looking at her uncomfortably like they didn't know what to do. They weren't used to teammates crying after a game. It made her seem like an alien and they were afraid if they said the wrong thing, her head might start spinning or something.

"And now I'm bloody crying. _Great," _she lamented.

Sirius wanted to do something. The others kept glancing at him, clearly wanting him to do something as well, him being her boyfriend and all, but even he didn't want to make the wrong move. He gave her back a little rub and said delicately, "No use beating yourself up, Annie. You've been under a lot of pressure. I told you before; no one cares as long as you're in one piece. And you've caught the Snitch three out of five games so far. That's a fantastic record."

She nodded, and wiped her tears on her scarf. There was another pause as if they were waiting for her to give some kind of signal indicating that she was normal again.

Suddenly, Caradoc, who had been hoarding a few snowballs in his possession, threw one at Sirius. It hit him in the side of the head.

Sirius squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again and said, "You're going to regret that, Doc."

"Funny, because I don't think I am," Caradoc replied, and threw a snowball at Annabelle. She was ready for it though, and ducked, grabbing a handful of snow. Just like that, a full blown battle was in effect, with all of them wildly forming snowballs and sending them flying at each other. Annabelle couldn't make them fast enough she was laughing so much at being hit. Fairfax then dove on top of Johnny B. and rubbed his face in the snow which only encouraged the others to play rough as well.

"Payback time!" James shouted, putting Sirius in a headlock and smashing a handful of snow into his face. Then he bolted after Annabelle, who screamed and tried to run. He scooped up snow as he charged her, shoving it down her back.

"That was for Straiton. Didn't think I'd remember, did ya?" he taunted them.

Sirius tackled him, practically washing his face with handfuls of snow. They all went pretty easy on Annabelle, but she had no problem diving onto Caradoc's back, knocking him down and smashing snow into his hair and neck.

"That's the way to do it, Annabelle! Get him," Fairfax hollered. She rolled off of him and Johnny B. sat on his back so the rest of them could bury him in the snow. Once he was covered up to his neck they waved good-bye.

"See ya, Doc!" James called as he jogged toward the castle, laughing all the way.

"Send a howler if you need anything!" added Sirius, grabbing Annabelle's hand as they dashed away, Johnny B. right behind them.

Fairfax took pity on him though and dislodged him from his icy cocoon with a push from his foot, then took off with the others. Caradoc hesitated after hoisting himself out of the knee deep snow, then charged after them, yelling like a Viking going into battle.

They made it into the castle just as Caradoc was about to attack, but once he crossed the threshold into the foyer, he stopped abruptly in his tracks, and warbled shrilly in a voice like an elderly woman, "Tea time, duckies! Shall I put the kettle on?"

Again they were thrown into fits of laughter. They all needed to laugh, and his random craziness did the trick. Annabelle had tears in her eyes; the good kind. As they started up the stairs, she quietly said to Caradoc, "Not sure what all of that was about, but thank you."

Caradoc winked and said, "Anytime, love. I hate seeing girls cry, unless they're happy tears. And it was good to relieve some stress, wasn't it?"

She nodded, and was pleased he hadn't referred to her as a bloke, contrary to what Septima had said in the bathroom.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning, Annabelle, Lily, and Alice went to breakfast without waiting for the boys since they had apparently decided to sleep in and there was no sign of them. After they had been there for a short time, the boys started trailing in a couple at a time. Sirius and James were the last to arrive. Annabelle couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Elsinore walk over to talk to him, like she'd been waiting for him.

Lily noticed too, but the others hadn't until she blurted out, "What does she want from him? Can't she take a hint?"

"Clearly she cannot," said Remus.

"She is an embarrassment to herself," added Johnny B.

Sirius hadn't stopped walking when Elsinore approached him, but she started following him to their table, so he turned around and took several steps back. Anyone could see he was angry with her as he spoke, and of course she was pulling her _poor innocent little me_ face. She looked like she might cry as she responded to him, and his face softened momentarily. Then she said something else and touched his arm, which caused him to recoil like he'd been burned. He said something and walked away.

He joined the others at the table, knowing they had probably been watching, especially since James had seen her pull him aside. He felt like she was trying to discredit him in front of his friends and especially Annabelle; like if she talked to him enough, people would think he was truly friends with her or something. She made his skin crawl. Of course, now he would have to explain the whole encounter.

Johnny B. asked, "Did you tell her to fuck off?"

"Not in those exact words, no. I told her to leave me the fuck alone," he replied.

"But she didn't leave you alone," said Annabelle, trying very hard be levelheaded about it.

Sirius sighed. "No, but I couldn't have her following me through the Great Hall, so I let her talk. She claimed she wanted to know if I was going to her family's New Year's party this year."

Annabelle didn't like the sound of this.

"You never go to their party," said James.

"Exactly. I haven't been to a party at her house since I was eleven years old. And even then it was dull as dishwater. I told her exactly that, and also that I would never go to a party at her family's home again as long as I live, and to let a Bowtruckle scratch my eyes out if I'm lying about that."

"Is that when she pulled the sad face?" asked Lily.

"Yes. I thought maybe I'd gone too far, but then she told me that I didn't mean what I'd said; that I was just lost."

Annabelle figured that was when she put her vile hand on him.

"So, I told her she needed mental help and that was that."

Johnny B. shook his head. "You did _not_ go too far. In fact, I feel like having a word with her myself."

"No," said Sirius sternly. "Just stay away from her, and all of them for that matter. They would like nothing more than to lure us into a war with them. Let's not waste another minute on her. She's not worth it."

It already felt like a war to Annabelle, and if Elsinore didn't get her prize, Sirius was going to end up a casualty.

As the subject changed and they started talking about other things, Sirius whispered to Annabelle, "Aside from class, I want you to stay as far away from her as possible. If you see her, turn the other way. Promise me you will do that."

"I'm not afraid of her," replied Annabelle.

Sirius was becoming frustrated. "I know that, but I don't want her trying to hurt you to punish me."

"How would she ever win you back if she hurt me? I honestly don't think she's going to lay another finger on me. But if it makes you feel better, I will steer clear of her. I have no reason to go near her anyway."

He seemed satisfied with her answer, and they dropped it. Claire gave Remus a wave from the Ravenclaw table and he blushed and waved back, causing James and Sirius to grin and tease him. Peter called over to Emily, and she turned around and waved hello, but giggled as she turned back around. Fairfax high-fived him, but Annabelle couldn't tell if it was a happy giggle or if she was laughing at him. She hoped it was the former, because poor Peter seemed smitten.

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The next day in Potions, Professor Slughorn was introducing a new topic, and even though she should have been paying attention, she wasn't. Sirius was bored, so he was getting fidgety, like he wanted some entertainment. She had seen him and his friends act this way before, and it usually ended with detention. He had a box of Bertie Botts beans and kept slipping Annabelle the peppermint and marmalade flavoured ones under the table, since they were her favourite. Soon, a tiny paper airplane landed in front of him. He opened it, then showed it to Annabelle. It read: **_Send me some beans._** **_But not the nasty ones._** Sirius knew it was from Peter by the handwriting, so he fished out a single bean from the box, and wrote on the note, **_Last one. Enjoy!_** He folded it back into its airplane shape, put the bean inside and surreptitiously charmed it to fly back to Peter.

It was quiet for a moment, then Peter shouted out, "BLECH! THAT'S FOUL!" Then he made spitting noises and coughed.

Sirius put his head down on the table to hide his instant laughter.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Pettigrew?" Professor Slughorn asked.

"Erm, no, sir. Not at all, sir," he replied. James looked back at Sirius and instantly crumpled into silent laughter too, unable to keep a straight face when he saw his friend laughing. Annabelle nudged Sirius, which only made him laugh harder.

When it was time to begin the assignment, Sirius got up to get their ingredients for the potion they'd be making. He and James were still laughing over Peter's outburst and she could hear Peter berating Sirius for giving him the worst flavour. Suddenly, Rowan Summerby came in with a stack of papers to be handed out to the students. Sirius's eyes narrowed from across the room as Rowan handed the papers to the professor. As he was leaving, he saw Annabelle and approached her.

"Saw the game Saturday. I was rooting for you," Rowan said.

Again, she was confused. "Um... thank you."

He nodded and smiled then left the room.

Sirius set their ingredients down, giving her a funny look.

"What?" she said.

"What did he want, Annabelle?"

"Will you please sit down first?"

He sat down and said, "Okay, I'm sitting."

"You aren't going to chase him down or anything are you?"

"Depends on what he said," he replied.

Annabelle was hesitant to tell him. Rowan hadn't been rude or anything, but it was oddly flirtatious, and Sirius was already wound up from the boredom and the jelly beans, so she worried he might overreact. He had nothing to worry about as far as Rowan was concerned, but she also knew from experience than it didn't feel good to watch someone chatting up your significant other.

"He was talking about last Saturday's game, that's all," she said, looking away as the papers were handed back. It was just a memo reminding students to inform the Headmaster if they'd be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Obviously she would be staying, so she needn't have taken one.

"What did he say about last Saturday's game?" he asked.

Annabelle pretended to chuckle a little as she told him, trying to show him how silly she thought it was. She just couldn't lie to him, even though in this case it might have been the wise thing to do.

"He said he'd been at the game. Oh, and that he was rooting for me. I mean, how ridiculous is that? He's in Hufflepuff, rooting for the opposite Seeker. Strange boy, he is."

Sirius didn't smile. He looked sort of perplexed as he turned it over in his mind. Then he looked at Annabelle and said, "He actually said he was _rooting_ for you?"

She nodded.

"What an idiot," he said.

She hoped that was it, that they could move on and work on their assignment, but it was bothering him too much to let it go.

"What kind of moron roots for the other side?" he asked.

Annabelle shrugged. She had rooted for the other side once, because at the time she thought her future teammates were smug arses, but she didn't think now was the time to share that bit of information. Also, she was pretty sure that wasn't the reason Rowan was rooting for her.

"Are we going to get started on this potion?" Annabelle asked.

"I'd kind of like to know why your crush is suddenly fawning all over you whenever he sees you."

"_Former_ crush," Annabelle corrected him. "And fawning all over me? That's a bit of an exaggeration. Compared to what your ex-girlfriend has been up to, I think Rowan is pretty tame."

Sirius laughed dryly and said, "For the love of Merlin, I was twelve! She's hardly an ex-girlfriend, especially since I never liked her. And you know she's stark raving mad. What's this toe-rag's excuse?"

"Why does it matter?" Annabelle asked. "I lost interest in him months ago."

"Then he needs to back off."

"Yes. I agree. If he speaks to me again I will tell him to back off," she said. "Now can we forget it and get to work?"

Sirius started measuring ingredients, still clearly angry.

"Hey," she said softly. "I'm with _you_. You're my crush now; no one else. Please, don't give him a second thought."

He exhaled and nodded. It was tough not knowing why this twit was suddenly speaking to Annabelle. Again, it was about respect. She was clearly involved with someone else, so what gave Rowan the audacity to flirt with her? Sirius knew he had to listen to her though, and forget about it. He had to trust her, or what were they doing together?

"You're right," he replied. "I won't give it another thought."

They got to work on their potion, and thanks to Sirius, it was flawlessly executed in record time. Annabelle didn't want him to worry about Rowan, but it was nice to know he cared enough to be a little jealous. Still, it was bewildering that Rowan was speaking to her at all. It bothered her for reasons she couldn't quite articulate yet.


	32. First Love

It was officially the holiday season at Hogwarts, evidenced by the festive decorations ornamenting the Great Hall. Excitement was in the air as there were only two weeks of school left until the break, and the weeks leading up to it were always a bit more relaxed and fun than any other time of year. Annabelle had mixed feelings about this season, for reasons one would expect of a girl without a home in which to go, but she did love the decorations. Dumbledore and McGonagall knew it was an emotional time for her, since her grandfather had been big on Christmas. She had fond memories of the huge fresh Christmas tree in their home, with the fairy lights bought at the Muggle department store. It had been amazing to think how much more astonishing it could have been had he been willing to show her the magical world at the time, but she was still brought to fits of nostalgia for her cheap Muggle lights. Dumbledore made sure to grace a corner of the Gryffindor common room with a small tree decorated the Muggle way for her every year. The other students weren't aware of its significance and would laugh at the little tree or call it sad, but she appreciated it immensely.

Annabelle couldn't enjoy the relaxed atmosphere this December, though. First, she found herself worrying about Sirius, since his horrid parents expected him at home, and she didn't even want to imagine how that would unfold knowing that Malachi and Elsinore had been reporting to them. He told her not to worry and was putting on a very brave face, but she knew he didn't want to go. He had said to her before that he was old enough to fight back now, but she hoped beyond hope that there wouldn't be a need for that.

She also had to deal with the agonizing stress of their final Quidditch match hanging over her head; the match against Slytherin. Beating Slytherin was what the team had in mind when they asked her to join them in September. When the Slytherins cheated, they lost the first game anyway. Her skill hadn't mattered. They knew there would be another chance, and Annabelle felt like that chance was so far off that she needn't dwell on it. Now, here it was, right in front of her. She had learned a lot, and improved greatly. She could deflect and dodge Bludgers, she could bluff with the opposing Seeker, and she could fly better than she'd ever done in the past. She still couldn't stand on her broom, but it didn't look like the gigantic Otto Mingus, Seeker for Slytherin, could either. He was a beast, and not the most agile on a broom. She was more worried about what dirty tactic they would use to defeat her this time; that is if she even came close to catching the Snitch.

"You underestimate yourself too much," said Sirius one morning as they were snuggling in the common room after a grueling practice. Everyone else had gone to breakfast, but they chose to steal a few minutes to themselves in front of the hearth before joining them. "You always think you don't know what you are doing out there, but you do."

She knew her level of Quidditch confidence could stand to improve some. She was perfectly confident in most other aspects of school life, except Potions, and the older she got, the less she cared about people's perception of her. Yet she couldn't give herself an ounce of praise when it came to Quidditch. As crazy at it sounded, even to her, she feared that if she acknowledged her skill, it would be taken from her. She felt it must have been some lingering complex from the time after her grandfather had passed and she was forced to live with her mother. It was amazing how such a short episode in her life could leave such a lasting scar.

"I don't want to tempt fate by thinking I'm good at it, I suppose," she tried to explain to him.

Sirius just smiled and shook his head. He adored her; neurotic tendencies and all. What a surprise she had been to him this year. In a million years, he never would have thought that Annabelle O'Neill would be his girlfriend. He had never thought she'd even smile at him, and he regretted now that he probably wouldn't have given her a chance either. He knew he had James and Lily to thank for Annabelle, since if they hadn't twisted their arms into becoming lab partners, they wouldn't have become friends, they wouldn't have kissed, and he'd be so much poorer for it.

He sighed and put his head back on the sofa. "I love you, Annabelle," he revealed as he gazed into the fire, his fingers playing with her hair while her head rested on his shoulder. He hadn't been thinking, but just speaking the words that felt natural. His eyes instantly widened, like he couldn't believe he'd let it slip out.

Her heart had leapt when he said it. She looked at him and said, "Do you mean that?"

He nodded as he bit his lip nervously; then he looked back at her and said, "Yes. I do."

She didn't make him suffer the agony of waiting for a response to a statement like that.

"I love you, too," she said, grinning shyly.

He leaned in and kissed her. Knowing that everyone was at breakfast gave them a false sense of security and their kissing eventually turned into more. Clothing was being unfastened, hands were venturing into new territory… It was so tempting knowing that his dorm room was empty, and they could have slipped up the stairs, but there was always a chance that someone could walk in on them. Also, dear Drusilla's sage voice echoed in Annabelle's mind again. She'd made sure to emphasize in her lessons on boys all those years ago that boys often tell you they love you, but they don't often mean it. They're just saying it to get into your knickers, as Drusilla put it. At the time, young Annabelle had asked how you'd ever know if someone truly loved you then. Drusilla said, don't have sex with a boy just because he says I love you. If he's willing to wait, then you're probably with a good one. If he tires of you soon after; then he was just trying to get into your knickers.

At present, Annabelle wasn't sure she cared. She loved him… so much… and she believed him when he said he loved her. Just as they were getting carried away, they heard voices approaching outside the portrait hole. They wrenched themselves apart and started readjusting and fastening their clothing as quickly as their fumbling hands could move and jumped to opposite ends of the sofa, pretending to lounge casually like they hadn't just been all over each other.

In walked two second-year girls, looking like they'd just seen Godric Gryffindor himself sitting before them.

"Hello," one said, beaming a big toothy smile, and waved awkwardly.

"Hello," Sirius said back, and the girls slapped their hands over their mouths, muffling squeals as they scurried off to the girls' staircase.

"Wow," Annabelle said, grinning at the girl's reaction. "I would say they're crazy, but when I see you I kind of have to resist doing that very same thing."

Sirius just laughed and said, "You, my darling, are something else."

"We'd probably better go _do_ something else, like eat breakfast, before any more members of the Sirius Black fan club arrive," Annabelle teased him, although it was probably for the best that the girls interrupted, she thought now that she had her wits about her again. She didn't want her first time to be an impulsive shag and run, and the thought of one of the other boys possibly walking in on them made her shudder with horror.

"You know you want to join the fan club," he said. "Lifetime membership is free, you know- but only for you."

"Are you kidding? I'm the president of your fan club," she replied.

He laughed again, but told her to wait for a minute while he went to his room for something. He came back down and handed her a small wrapped box.

"But it's too soon; it's not Christmas yet," Annabelle said, as they sat back down on the sofa.

"I figured since I have you alone, I'd give it to you early," he said. "I wish it was more, but my parents don't exactly send me an allowance these days."

"You didn't have to do this, really," she said.

"Just open it, Annie. Please?" he asked eagerly.

She pulled the wrapping paper off and in her hand was an antique music box, painted with vibrant green hills and a bright blue sky dotted with white clouds. The Irish word _Céadsearc_ was painted in the clouds in a swirly golden script. When she opened it, a tiny fairy that looked so real Annabelle thought it might fly out of the box, danced around in a circle while flitting her sparkling gossamer wings. When the music began, Annabelle recognized it instantly as her breath caught and tears filled her eyes. Sirius smiled.

"Fields of Athenry," she said in a hushed voice, as though anything louder might frighten the fairy away. The song brought her back to their first kiss as they danced to that very song at Moore's.

"That sad old song, that is now a happy song to me," he said. "Not sure what the writing on it means, but I suppose it'd be easy to find out. Do you like it?"

She nodded and declared, "Oh, Sirius, it's _perfect_. Wherever did you find it?"

"During our last trip to Hogsmeade, when you and Lily went into Gladrags Wizardwear right before we left, James and I stopped off in Dervish & Banges. They had so much stuff all over that I don't know how I saw it in the clutter, but there it was, on little stand by the window. I thought you'd like the picture on it as well, being as it's Irish like your granddad."

"I love it for so many reasons," she replied as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I will cherish it always. Thank you, Sirius." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said.

"Well, since you gave me a present, I should probably go get yours," she said excitedly.

"No, Annabelle. I don't expect anything in return," he replied.

"It's already done," she said. "And I was having a hard time waiting to give it to you, so I'm actually quite pleased that you gave me an excuse. Just give me a moment."

She hurried off and when she returned, she had large rectangular object wrapped in brown paper. It had a sprig of mistletoe attached to the front.

"Sorry for the dull paper," she said as she sat down and handed him the gift. "The mistletoe makes it cheerful though, don't you think?"

"I don't know how the paper feels about it, but it certainly makes me cheerful," he said with a grin. "I think I'll carry this with me for the next two weeks, so be prepared."

He tore the paper off and his jaw dropped open, his eyes like saucers. He looked at Annabelle, but she couldn't tell if it was a pleased reaction or something else.

"Well?" she asked, flinching a little, hoping she hadn't made a mistake.

"Do you know what this is, Annabelle? Do you?" he asked, getting more excited with every syllable.

"It's a signed Ballycastle Bats Quidditch poster," she said. "Professor McGonagall had it framed for me when she was in Diagon Alley a couple weeks ago."

"It's from the 1960 championship, signed by the entire bloody team!" he exclaimed. "How did you ever get your hands on this?"

"It was my granddad's," she said, relieved he was pleased.

"Oh, Annabelle," he said sympathetically, "How could I take this? Isn't it too special to you?"

"I have so many things of my grandfather's that are special to me, Sirius," she said. "A Quidditch poster is not one of them. He would want someone who loves the sport to have it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she said. "I remember you wearing their shirt a couple times, before we were friends. And the only reason I remember that is because it ticked me off; you, a boy that pulled mean faces at me, wearing my granddad's favorite team."

Sirius laughed, and said, "I'll bet it did."

"Now, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather give this to."

"Thank you so much, Annie," he said, as he surveyed the poster. "This is, hands down, the best gift I have ever been given. The others are going to be so bloody jealous. I'm going to have to put a sticking charm on it so they don't try to nick it."

"I'm so glad you are happy with it," she said, delighted by his excitement.

"I'm ecstatic," he replied. "How did he get all the signatures?"

"He had a few connections," she teased.

"Of course he did, he was Darien O'Neill, of course," he replied, still smiling. "I'm going put this in a safe place for now. Be right back, don't leave without me."

"Never," she said.

When he joined her again, they headed through the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall. Students were starting to fill the corridors.

"Come on," he said. "Maybe Izzy can slip us some leftovers before class."

They went down to the kitchens to visit their friend Izzy the house-elf before facing their friends and the inevitable questioning of where they had been all through breakfast.

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By the end of the week, the Quidditch team was extremely tense and moody. Daily Quidditch practices and tensions over the approaching Slytherin game were making them snippy with each other. The two teams were so close in points that it could almost be called a tie, and so they spent equal time off the pitch, sitting down and trying to figure out what tricks the Slytherin team might have up their sleeves. They reviewed stories of professional games where cheating had been suspected or proven, hoping to be prepared for whatever Slytherin had in store for them. They devised plays for every possible situation they could think of.

It made Annabelle crazy that most of the scenarios they were coming up with revolved around what the opposing team might do to her, since taking out the Seeker would pretty much guarantee they won, unless the others hustled to make up for those points before the Snitch was caught. As far as skill was concerned, Gryffindor had the advantage. If Slytherin played fair, then it would be an easy win. When it came to poor sportsmanship, though, Slytherin took the prize and everyone feared they had waited until the last game to really showcase how twisted they could be.

At the end of every practice, they did drills, which always ended with Annabelle still trying to master standing on her broom. They had noticed a slight improvement, and were allowing her to practice with Bludgers while very close to the ground, because their nerves couldn't take the falling. She was doing alright, but every time she got a little height and speed, she'd panic and sit back down. Any improvement was something though, and she clung to the fact that she still had one week left to practice.

The following Monday, with less than a week to the game, Annabelle walked to class with Sirius, hand in hand. Of course, the last thing she needed in addition to the stress of the looming game was a run-in with Elsinore. But there she was, waiting for Sirius outside the classroom. Annabelle had reached her limit with this mad crone.

"What in Merlin's Beard does she want now?" Annabelle said through gritted teeth.

"I will handle it, Annie," Sirius said, recognizing her tone as the same one she had used on Malachi in class, not to mention on Sirius himself and his mates in the distant past. It was the sign that her temper had reached its boiling point, and the last thing he wanted her to do was to give Elsinore what she wanted most; attention.

As they approached the door they saw Lily and James waiting too, aware that trouble might erupt. Lily was ready if Annabelle was, but Sirius knew he had to tread lightly. He couldn't ignore the encounter and risk Annabelle feeling slighted, but he also couldn't risk inciting this maniac's rage with the match approaching, and in effect, making more problems for the team, specifically for Annabelle.

Elsinore handed a dark green envelope to Sirius.

"What the hell is this?" he asked her coldly. Annabelle stayed by his side, mildly smirking at her.

"It's an invitation to our party. My mum asked me to give you one. I know you said you couldn't make it, but I thought in case you changed your mind..."

Sirius took the envelope and opened it right there. He showed it to Annabelle.

"Wow, fancy," said Annabelle.

"Are you interested in going to this party with me, darling?" he said to her.

Annabelle laughed. "Sorry my love, as much I'd be delighted to go to a party with you, this one looks like it might be a bit stuffy, if you know what I mean."

Elsinore narrowed her eyes at Annabelle then grinned malevolently.

"The lady has spoken and it's a no," Sirius said to her as he handed the invitation back to Elsinore. "Sorry, but _still_ not interested."

He put his hand on the small of Annabelle's back and ushered her into the room before it could go any further. Annabelle turned her head back, though, and said in her poshest affectation, "I _do_ hope it's a _smashing_ good time!"

Lily and James followed them into the room, Lily smiling smugly at Elisnore the same way Annabelle had, and James just shaking his head in disgust at her.

Once they were in the room, Sirius said to Annabelle, "Just relax. It's probably just their way of messing with our heads before the game. Don't give in to them."

She nodded, and buried her rage.

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The Friday before the match, Annabelle was feeling her customary nausea, unable to eat, focus, or breathe properly all day. They had their last practice that morning; their last one of the year. No one felt ready, but then they never would when matched against monsters.

Sirius held her hand all through Potions in an attempt to keep her grounded. He'd seen her nervous before, but this was new. She hadn't had anything for breakfast except for copious amounts of tea and she looked as pale as a ghost. Her every move seemed fraught with tension and she wasn't talking much, except in one word answers. Now he was wishing he'd kept his Quidditch obsession to himself, so that he'd never have known she could catch a Snitch, and then he could have spared her, and himself, this torment. His fear was that fighting with the Slytherins this year was only going to influence them more on the pitch. He knew they wanted revenge, and the pitch was a perfect place for them to get it because they could blame everything on a Bludger.

As they exited class, Lily and Alice swooped in around her and ushered her off ahead of the boys to the Great Hall. Sirius hoped they could calm her down, because he couldn't.

"She's a mess," said James, stopping and leaning against the wall.

"This is going to be the longest twenty-four hours of my life," replied Sirius watching as the girls strode off.

Just then, his eyes flashed with fury as he clenched his jaw. James immediately looked to see what he was looking at, and said, "This idiot, again?"

Rowan had been coming toward the girls. He was saying something, but it didn't appear that Annabelle was even looking at him. Lily said something and he turned and walked a few feet with them until he went in the direction of the loo. Annabelle glanced back to see if Sirius had noticed.

"What the fuck was that?" Sirius demanded angrily.

"That guy needs his head screwed on correctly," said James. "Shall we?"

"You know what? I think so," said Sirius.

The boys headed straight for the loo, but the girls had been waiting for them in front of the Great Hall. Lily and Alice side stepped in front of them, blocking their attempts to follow the unsuspecting Hufflepuff. The encounter with Rowan only made Annabelle feel sicker, and she started to feel dizzy from her nerves and not having eaten.

"Leave it alone, Sirius," said Lily. "He just said good luck tomorrow and asked if she was ill. That's all."

"It was harmless," said Alice. "Really."

"You can't punish him for being polite," Lily said.

"Just want to have a chat with him, Lily," said Sirius as he tried to get around her.

"He needs to stop upsetting my team," James said, reaching for any excuse to go after him for Sirius's sake. "He's bringing down morale."

Annabelle felt her stomach turn, and she ran for the door, wrenching it open just in time to vomit into the snow.

"Ewwww!" some third years girls who had been passing exclaimed.

"Pavement pizza!" their male counterparts called out, pointing and giggling.

Sirius jogged over to her and brought her back inside the castle, and Alice followed, pushing the heavy the door shut.

"Annabelle, are you going to be alright?" Sirius asked. "Because if you are this nervous about it now then I don't think it's ethical to have you out there tomorrow."

"I feel a lot better now, actually," she said. "I felt like that was coming all day."

"Maybe you should go lie down," he suggested. "What if you're sick?"

"I'm not sick," she said. "And I'm not going anywhere while you and James are on a mission to instigate a fight with someone as inconsequential as Rowan Summerby."

"I just want to know his story, that's all," said Sirius. "As in why does he keep chatting up my girlfriend and why doesn't she tell him to get stuffed?"

"I was about to vomit, Sirius. I wasn't even paying attention to him, I promise."

"Then why did you turn and look at me?"

"Because I knew _you_ were paying attention," she replied, "And probably reading too much into it, as usual. It's not like he invited me to a family Christmas party or anything."

Sirius looked hurt and she felt bad as soon as she said it.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," she said gently. "I know you are as irritated by Elsinore as I am, and contrary to what you think, I am also annoyed that Rowan keeps talking to me. Maybe not for the same reasons you are, but I do find him rather pesky."

"Pesky? He's worse than a bloody Nogtail," Sirius said.

Annabelle laughed for the first time all day. "And you think I exaggerate?"

Sirius smiled too and said, "You know what I mean."

"You know, you are extra cute when you're jealous," Annabelle said as she squeezed his hand.

"Aww… I'd kiss you right now for that, but I don't think I want the taste of Earl Gray-vomit preceding my lunch," he teased her.

She laughed and said, "I think I'll pop upstairs to brush my teeth, but for now I'll settle for a hug."

He pulled her in close, squeezing her extra tightly. He would never admit it to her, but he had an ominous feeling that he couldn't shake. He wished he could just hold her forever, to protect her from the dangers he sensed were lurking in the shadows all around them.

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The members of the Quidditch team, along with Lily, Alice, Remus, and Peter sat around the fire in the common room that night. James wanted to give them a chance to review plays and come up with any more possible scenarios, hoping that wise and analytical Remus could add to the discussion, since he knew the game as well as any of them. After a while they needed a break from talking about Slytherin's twisted ways, and the conversation drifted into other topics.

Fairfax said, "I can't believe my last match ever is tomorrow. I am going to miss this."

That made everyone a touch sad, since Fairfax was a seventh-year and would be graduating in the spring. Caradoc looked especially sad since Fairfax was his best mate.

"We're going to miss you, too," said Johnny B. with a frown. Fairfax had beaten the shite out of a kid during his fourth year who had dared make fun of Johnny B. for being gay in front of him. Fourteen-year-old Fairfax had already been tall and strong, and that was the last time anyone dared mess with Johnny B.

"Yeah, we are, mate," said Sirius. "You'll come back to visit, though, and we'll play a match together."

Fairfax nodded glumly. Annabelle had only really gotten to know him this year, and she felt like she'd be losing a big brother.

"Who will catch me when I fall off my broom?" she asked.

They all laughed, but she meant it. He had always been the one to volunteer to spot her first, and she felt safer knowing he was on the pitch with her.

"Does that mean you aren't quitting the team after tomorrow?" James asked.

"Ask me again, tomorrow," she said.

After a while, they were starting to fade. Daily practice and stress had made them exhausted. "Alright, I think it's time," said James with a sigh. "Off to Bedfordshire for all of us. The more we sleep tonight, the more alert we'll be in the morning."

Annabelle didn't want to go to bed just yet though. She knew she'd be tossing and turning, and if Lily and Alice weren't going to bed yet, she didn't want to be in their room alone in case Dominica tried to curse her in her sleep or something.

"Are you going upstairs?" Sirius asked her. They had been sitting on the floor side by side, and now she was hugging her knees to herself, as he rubbed her back.

"Not yet," she said, feeling a panicky lump rising in her throat. She fought it as hard as she could, but he could tell she was going out of her mind worrying about the game. He couldn't tell her to relax either, because he was going out of his mind too.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

"That we will lose to Slytherin because of me," she replied.

"Even if we do, it's just part of the game," he assured her. He didn't care at that point if they lost. He just wanted her safe from those sociopaths.

She said no more, but she put her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. He whispered to her, "I love you. So much."

She slung her arm around the front of him and gave him a tight squeeze.

"I love you, too," she whispered back.

A short time later, they all went to their dorms. Lily and Alice wanted her to sleep, and they knew Dominica could be lurking about. As expected Annabelle tossed and turned, but she did eventually fall asleep, and she dreamt of monstrous ghouls on brooms, wearing green and silver, and Bludgers the size of boulders flying all around.

When she woke up in the morning, she headed straight to the loo to vomit.


	33. Open Your Eyes

At breakfast, the team was doing their best to put on a brave face. No one wanted the Slytherin team members to see them sweat, but it was proving challenging to muster any kind of enthusiasm. Annabelle swallowed some dry toast and had a cup of tea. She couldn't bring herself to force down another bite. James was sitting next to Lily for the first time since they'd broken up, and Annabelle saw him take her hand. She didn't let go.

Then it was time for the team to head out to the pitch. Annabelle felt glued to her seat. Johnny B. said, "I'll carry you, Annie, if you need me to."

The offer almost made her cry.

"Thank you, Johnny B.," she replied. "I'll manage."

Lily walked outside with them and James stopped with her for moment while the others continued on.

"Wish us luck, Lily, because we're going to need it," he said.

"It's going to be fine," she tried to reassure him.

"Normally I'd agree, but I have a bad feeling about this match," he said. "There are some dark, dangerous guys on that team that would like nothing more than to annihilate us for reasons other than winning a trophy."

"Now you're making _me_ nervous," she replied. "Maybe you should tell Dumbledore what you're thinking. Or just forfeit." Even as she said it she knew the majority of the team would be against it. Annabelle herself would never want to forfeit, even if it meant risking bodily harm to prove a point.

"Dumbledore knows something is brewing. He has to," James responded.

Lily had never seen him nervous before a match before. He was always so cool and collected. Seeing him like this made her hurt for him, and she couldn't resist the urge to hug him. He hugged her back, and they stood like that for a few moments, just wrapped in each other's arms.

"I still love you, James," she said.

He pulled back to look at her, and then kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back.

"Oh Lil, I love you, too," he replied as he held her close. "Never stopped."

Finally, they let each other go, and Lily headed back inside the castle to grab her Gryffindor pennant to wave around at the game and to wait for the others. On her way back into the Great Hall to meet her friends she bumped into Severus, who had been exiting.

"Sorry," she said awkwardly.

"S-sorry," he stuttered, his eyes meeting hers briefly. "It's lovely to see you, Lily."

She felt a pang of despair when she looked at him at that moment. Here was someone who had been a friend once upon a time. Someone she trusted and for whom she cared deeply. Now, she was horrified that she'd allowed herself to ever be close with him. He had changed, and she felt something akin to fear when she saw him now, even though she didn't think he'd do anything to hurt her. It was the class of people he was associating himself with, and the darkness that seemed to engulf him that devastated her. Those were _his_ mates that Annabelle, James, and Sirius would be facing on the pitch that morning. His mates that were driving hers insane over this match.

"Are your friends going to hurt them?" she asked, her voice shaking. She didn't know what impelled her to ask, but she felt she must, in case he'd be open to telling her something.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said flatly.

"Yes, you do," she said. "The match today. What are they planning to do to my friends?"

"Honestly," he replied. "I don't know anything about it. I am not on the team."

She wanted to demand he tell her what he knew; what tricks they had up their sleeves, but she said no more, lest James see her talking to him. She would not allow this shadow of a former friend nor his ghoulish crew do anything to destroy the life she'd built for herself.

"Good day, Severus," she replied coldly, and went to meet her friends for the match.

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It was another cold day as expected, but the wind was calm and it wasn't snowing. It was the best they could hope for at that time of year. Annabelle sat in her changing area after putting on her uniform just trying to stop shaking. Professor McGonagall had recently shared with her some deep breathing techniques that she used to employ before matches, and she said they made a world of difference for her. Annabelle figured she had nothing to lose by trying. Soon, though, she heard her name being called.

She joined her teammates for the last game of the season feeling torn between her anxiety over the match and her gratitude that these lads had allowed her to be a part of this experience; however terror inducing it had been. She looked at Fairfax and he looked back at her, giving her an encouraging wink. Johnny B. gave her braids a little tug, and Sirius just gazed at her, knowing that no gesture he could demonstrate to her right then would be nearly enough to encompass everything he was feeling at that moment.

When they huddled together, James said, "This is it. We've worked hard this season, and I mean it when I say I wouldn't want to be on the pitch with anyone else. I am so proud to be on this team. Just play your best, as you always do."

James wasn't feeling up to his normal battle cry so Caradoc handled it for him, roaring, "WE ARE MIGHTY GRYFFINDOR!" It cut through the tension and gave them the kick they needed to get out onto the pitch and fight.

Before the game had even begun, Annabelle eyed Otto Mingus, the Slytherin Seeker and the brute that Dominica had involved in their mass duel. He had cheated last time, or else she would have caught the Snitch, and she knew he would do something equally as rotten this time, since he couldn't win without cheating. He was trying to get her going by glaring at her and making lewd faces at her, but she remained aloof to his taunts and stared him down.

Once the game had begun, her teammates gave it all they had. They were determined to score as many points as possible and send as many Bludgers toward the Slytherins as they could before something unforeseen could happen. Sirius tried to focus on the task at hand knowing that Dumbledore was standing on the sidelines as well; a first for the year since he normally sat in the stands. It was a bit unsettling that Dumbledore felt the need to be there, but it made Sirius feel a little safer knowing he was looking out for them.

Annabelle felt relatively calm at first. Everything was going smoothly. Only a few Bludgers managed to get close to her, but she dodged them all. Otto had been hit a couple times, but being as massive as he was, they didn't seem to affect him much. The cold was starting to bother her eyes, and the Snitch was hiding well. At one point, Otto tricked her, and she heard the Slytherin students in the stands laughing as she flew past. She even heard some of them boo her.

About forty-five minutes into the game, Evan Rosier, the Slytherin Keeper yelled to her as she flew past, "DIE MUDBLOOD," then cackled wildly as James scored on him. The way he laughed even though they were clearly losing scared her. If they weren't there to win, what were they there for?

It brought her strong façade crumbling down and she began to feel overwhelmed. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._ She chanted the mantra in her head as a few actual tears mixed in with the ones formed by the cold. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she suddenly felt aggrieved, like she was ten years old again, getting teased for wearing dirty clothes to school, or when she was fifteen and the most popular boys at Hogwarts had laughed at her. These were the same boys for whom she was up there flying around in the freezing air, possibly for whom she was about to humiliate herself by risking life and limb in order to win a game she was entirely indifferent towards. She wanted to leave the pitch, and in her state of frustration, she thought of quitting, right then and there. That was when the Snitch whizzed past her, halting her downward spiral into an ugly-cry.

She turned quickly in the opposite direction, completely fooling Otto, then zipped back around where she saw it zooming across the pitch near the Gryffindor goal posts. She sped after it as fast as her broom could take her, not daring to look back to see where Otto was.

"I've got ya, Annie! Go for it!" Caradoc called to her, ready to guard her from Bludgers once she appeared to see the Snitch.

She was about to grab it when Otto smacked into her, pushing her off her broom. She held on tight though, remounted it, and zoomed back around as the Snitch seemed to be circling the pitch. She quickly caught up with Otto who had been hit with a Bludger delivered by Fairfax.

Suddenly, she heard Caradoc cry out in pain, but she knew he'd scold her for checking on him so she continued to chase the Snitch. The Snitch looped back around toward the center of the pitch giving Annabelle a slight advantage. Just as she was about to grab it, it went higher. She wondered momentarily why Otto was no longer next to her. She was so close, and again she tried to grab it as it skittered just out of her reach. She knew what she had to do, as she carefully got to her feet on her broom, shaking like a leaf while trying to breathe. She kept her knees slightly bent as they'd taught her, leaned slightly forward while balancing precariously as her broom gave a wobble. Just as she stabilized herself, she thought she heard someone shout something about a wand, but she pushed it out her mind, telling herself she was hallucinating. Players were forbidden from carrying wands during games. It was enough to get you kicked off the team, or worse if you actually used it.

The Snitch fluttered in front of her; just one more step toward the end of her broom and she could catch it. She reached out, and just as she felt like she had it, she heard Sirius holler her name, and an agonizing pain exploded in her back between her spine and her shoulder. Then the world went dark.

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Annabelle had been halfway between the Gryffindor goal posts and the center of the pitch when a Bludger smashed into her left shoulder blade. It had been dispatched at close range by the diabolical Slytherin Beater Amycus Carrow. Caradoc, who had been guarding her, had been hit in the upper part of his swinging arm with a Bludger that fractured his humerus and made him drop his bat. Otto Mingus had discreetly flashed his wand a few seconds later, causing her teammates to turn their attention away from Annabelle, who they could see was about to catch the Snitch, in order to stop Otto. Even though Dumbledore cast the wand out of Otto's hand, Amycus immediately took advantage of the momentary lapse of security near Annabelle and seized his moment, rapidly smashing a Bludger into her. It all happened so fast that none of them saw it coming until it was upon her; no one understood until it was over.

Her body had been spun around by the force of the Bludger and she fell fast, but abruptly slowed down when Madam Hooch cast the Arresto Momentum spell on her. Gracefully, she was lowered with the help of Madam Hooch's wand onto her back and her teammates immediately rushed to her side. Lily, Alice, Remus, Peter, and Claire, who had been sitting with them, began to make their way down out of the stands.

"Annabelle!" Sirius exclaimed, as he hopped off his broom and ran to her, kneeling at her head, holding it in his hands. "Open your eyes, Annabelle. Say something."

"Come on, Annabelle," said Johnny B., tears shimmering in his eyes. "Look at us, please!"

"God damn it, is she breathing?" James asked in a frightened voice.

"Help!" Sirius yelled frantically. "_Hurry!"_

Madam Pomfrey was already making her way across the field, followed by Professor McGonagall and a bandaged Caradoc who ignored her orders to stay put. Dumbledore stayed on the sidelines with Otto Mingus and Amycus Carrow. He was waiting for a signal that all was well before taking them in for questioning.

"Back up!" the nurse yelled and the team members stepped back a few feet, watching in horror. "And don't move her. She may have broken something." Sirius let go of her, but didn't move away.

Fairfax burst out, "This is my fault. I should have been covering her instead of going after Mingus!"

Caradoc, his arm immobilized in a splint until a healing spell could be properly administered, wailed, "If I hadn't been hit, this wouldn't have happened!"

"They hit you on purpose!" cried Johnny B. "It's no one's fault but theirs!"

"That's correct," agreed Professor McGonagall who hovered over Madam Pomfrey's shoulder. "You cannot blame yourselves. Now please try to remain calm!"

As Madam Pomfrey examined her, she said, "She's breathing… pulse is normal." Then she pried open each of her eyes and lit up the tip of her wand to check for dilation. "Pupils look good."

Next, she pulled a small blue glass bottle out of her bag, uncorked it and put it under Annabelle's nose. The following moments felt like an eternity as the nurse waved it back and forth, tapping her cheek.

"Come on, Annie. Wake up," Sirius urged her through gritted teeth as he fought to remain composed. "Why won't she wake up?"

The nurse mumbled something in Professor McGonagall's ear about St. Mungo's. By now the others had arrived and Alice and Lily fell to the ground on their knees next to Sirius.

"Open your eyes, Annie, please?" said Lily gently as her tears ran down her cheeks. James squatted next to her and put his arm around her.

Madam Pomfrey tapped her cheek again and said, "Alright, dear. You've sufficiently upset everyone, now open your eyes… open your eyes."

She waved the bottle under her nose several more times. And there it was. A tiny flutter of eyelids. A slight movement of her head. One more wave of the blue bottle under her nose, and her eyes opened.

"Annabelle?" Sirius asked.

Annabelle groaned and he touched her face again and kissed her forehead, his eyes shut tightly.

"Say something," he murmured into her ear.

"Are you able to speak?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I think so," she said.

"Excellent. Can you move?" the nurse asked.

Annabelle jerked her right arm out from under her body where it had gotten stuck upon her landing, bringing her closed fist above her eyes where she could see it, then opened her hand. There in her palm was the Golden Snitch.

"She caught it," said James, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Holy shite," said Caradoc.

She began to sit up, but Madam Pomfrey warned her to go slow. Annabelle smiled and held the Snitch above her head. With that, her teammates started hooting and shouting victoriously, scooping her up despite Madam Pomfrey's protestations. Fairfax and Johnny B. supported her on their shoulders as she waved the Snitch around and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Sirius broke down and doubled over in the snow with his head in his hands, relief flooding over him.

Lily rubbed his back and a tearful Alice said, "It's alright, she's okay."

He couldn't speak though; he was so overwhelmed with what had happened. He thought she'd died. That she had died trying to catch a Snitch. For him.

While up on their shoulders, though, Annabelle kept twisting to one side, feeling a pounding pain in her left shoulder, and she asked them to put her down. Madam Pomfrey scolded them for moving her before she was done examining her and asked where she was hurting. She indicated a spot on her back, below her shoulder. When Madam Pomfrey touched it, Annabelle yelped in pain.

"That is your scapula. You probably have a fracture," she said.

"Why would I lose consciousness over a broken bone?" Annabelle asked.

"Most likely from shock. Sudden and severe pain can have that effect," she replied. "It is not easy to break this bone so there must have been extreme force behind that Bludger." Then she turned to Professor McGonagall, who looked as white as a sheet, and said, "I'm going to escort her and the other one to the hospital ward. I'd like to screen them properly to confirm which bones need healing. Thankfully, neither hit their heads and they are stable, so just a closer examination and a spell or two and they should be as good as new."

"I'll be in to check on you shortly," McGonagall said to Annabelle and Caradoc, and she strode off toward the castle.

Sirius sat back on his heels, wiped his face on his arm, and got up. He went to her side and put his arm around her to help her up.

"Are you sure you can walk?" he asked her.

"Yes, I am fine, except for my shoulder," she said, noticing that he wasn't celebrating their win over their arch-rivals. "You're breaking my heart with that sad face. We won! Smile!"

He smiled half-heartedly, but said nothing.

"You had us scared for a bit, Annie," Lily said as she and Alice took turns gently hugging her right side. "I am so glad this is over for the year."

Sirius offered Annabelle his arm and she took it. "I don't even know what happened," she said, as they began walking off the pitch. "Was it just a Bludger?"

Fairfax shook his head, and James said bitterly, "No, it wasn't just a Bludger. Mingus broke out his wand to distract us so Carrow could have a window. It was another set-up. Had to be."

"Otto Mingus was just a pawn for them," said Johnny B. "He's not a real Seeker and he never cared about playing the game. He's graduating anyway, so why would he care about being kicked off the team?"

"Exactly," said Remus, Claire still by his side. "They manage to take Caradoc out, then Mingus brandishes his wand to turn your attention from Annabelle, Carrow takes her down and Mingus swoops in to catch the Snitch. In the event that he gets caught, he gets a minor punishment since he didn't actually use the wand, and he's no worse for the wear since, as Johnny B. pointed out, he's done with school soon. Meanwhile, Carrow gets away with it because it's part of his position to send Bludgers at the Seeker."

"It goes to show how daft they are, really, that they didn't take into account that his wand might be noticed by others, like Dumbledore for instance," offered Claire Shaw.

"Daft is an understatement," said James. "I thought Slytherins were supposed to be clever. I guess their Quidditch team is exempt from that theory."

"Or they didn't care, and figured if they couldn't win, Gryffindor would pay the price," said Alice.

They all knew they'd pull some kind of awful trick, so they weren't surprised, and the puzzle pieces were coming together. Despite the cheating and the injuries, they had a small spring in their steps knowing that they'd beaten Slytherin, and the Quidditch Cup was theirs.

"Well, I don't give a fig about this broken arm," said Caradoc. "We won. We beat the lousy scumbags."

"And Annabelle bloody well caught the little bugger," mused Fairfax. "Who'd have guessed?"

"She stood on her broom to do it, too," remarked James rather proudly.

"Can you finally admit you have talent?" Remus asked her.

"Maybe next year," she said. "For now, I'll call it luck."

Everyone chuckled at her self-deprecation; everyone but Sirius. He was too absorbed in the process of beating himself up over everything that had happened. He couldn't get the image of the Bludger striking her in her back out of his head. He felt like a fool for falling victim to Slytherin's trick, and he felt worse that he couldn't protect her.

In the hospital wing, the team and their friends waited outside while Madam Pomfrey examined and treated the injured Annabelle and Caradoc. Not long after, she popped her head out the door and told them they could come in, but she'd be keeping them for an hour just for observation. In their excitement over winning, they all started to get rowdy rehashing the match. Madam Pomfrey decided she would allow only one visitor each to stay, the rest could see them after they were released.

Fairfax stayed with Caradoc and Sirius with Annabelle while a few of the others went back to the pitch to return their uniforms and retrieve their clothing from the changing rooms. Madam Pomfrey went into her office, and Sirius sat down next to Annabelle where he proceeded to make himself comfortable by folding his arms under his head, leaning back onto her pillows, and putting his feet up.

"Do you have to take up the whole bed?" he joked. "That's always the way with you. For the love of Merlin, _move over_."

Annabelle couldn't keep a straight face when he said it, even though it made her blush.

"Could you please control yourselves over there?" Fairfax teased back. "Our Caradoc is an impressionable young lad. You're going to frighten him," and he yanked the curtain across the divide between their hospital beds.

"What'd you do that for?" Caradoc asked from the other side of the curtain, pretending to be aggravated. "How else am I going to learn about the birds and the bees?"

"Oh my," muttered Annabelle, scrunching her nose up, but giggling nonetheless.

Sirius grinned and replied, "Now, now, Caradoc. Mind your manners before I'm forced to break your other arm."

Fairfax and Caradoc snickered and could be heard slapping each other five, proud of their vulgarity. Of course, it was hard for them to let it go, and Sirius then proceeded to bounce on the bed a few times making it squeak rather suggestively.

"_Oh Annabelle,_" he moaned. "_Yes! Yes! Just like that!_"

"My ears! My pristine, uncorrupted ears!" Fairfax shouted. It was even funnier because Fairfax was anything but "pristine" when it came to that sort of thing. He wasn't quite the equivalent of Dominica, but he had several passionate relationships over the years. Annabelle always thought Fairfax was the type of boy Drusilla was warning them about in her sex ed lessons. Handsome, charming, and would break your heart if you let him. And many had let him.

"Relax, over there! She's only scratching my back," Sirius retorted as they all started laughing.

"Would you all bloody well grow up, please?" Annabelle asked, even though she was entertained by their banter.

"Sorry, Annabelle!" called Caradoc, still laughing, and he and Fairfax began their own quiet conversation.

Sirius wasn't really in the mood for joking around much anyway. He stared up at the ceiling and asked, "How is your shoulder feeling?"

"A lot better," she replied.

When he didn't say anything, she said, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I'm bad for you," he replied quietly so the other boys wouldn't hear through the curtain.

Annabelle felt her throat constrict with anxiety when he said that. She flashed back to Dominica telling her he was just using her for Quidditch.

"Okay," she said uneasily, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were dead today, Annabelle."

"But I wasn't. Not even close."

"It would have been my fault," he lamented. "I am the one that convinced you to play and I am the one with all the enemies in Slytherin."

"They're my enemies, too," she said.

"But they weren't before you began associating with me."

He had a point there, but it didn't matter to Annabelle.

"So?" she responded. "That's how it works. I am with you now, by choice. I can't pick and choose what comes with that. And if being with you means making enemies with them, well, I say bring on the enemies, because you are too dear to me to turn my back on."

He sat up and turned to face her. "Even if it endangers your life?"

Annabelle thought this talk sounded all too final. Now she briefly recalled that Septima had predicted he would dump her when the Quidditch season ended because he would no longer have any use for her. She didn't believe it at the time, but now it sounded like he was trying to get rid of her.

"Are you sure you're not breaking up with me?" she asked.

"How could you think that?" he asked, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I couldn't stay away from you if I tried. I just wonder why you don't run screaming from me, from all of this. Even if those bastards get into trouble, it isn't going to end. Why do you want to be with someone who can't seem to escape this darkness?"

She knew he was thinking about his parents, his blood status, and all the baggage that came with it. "Because it's not your fault," she said softly.

"But, Annabelle," he said, "My family… their friends… I feel like I am dragging you down into this mess with me."

"And there is no place I'd rather be than with you," she said, tears filling her eyes. "You don't have to go through it alone. Stay at the castle for Christmas, _please_."

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment then opened them and said, "I have to go, Annabelle. I have to show them."

"You don't have to prove anything to them," she said.

He shook his head and said, "It's not that. It's that they need to see they won't win. That I will never be what they want. Once and for all, I need to put an end to it. I need to do it for myself."

Annabelle wanted to beg him to stay. She wanted to tell Dumbledore, she wanted to send an owl to James' parents begging them to intervene. But he was determined. He wasn't telling her everything; she could see that, but if she interfered with his obligation and caused more trouble for him by dragging others into it, she'd be responsible for anything that happened to him as a result.

"Also," he continued, "I am curious as to what those trolls have been telling them about me."

Annabelle said, "Please, think about it a bit more. Wouldn't you rather be here with me?"

"There is nothing I want more," he replied. "And you never know. I might be turning around as soon I set foot in the door, since I don't know what's waiting for me there, really."

The idea of spending Christmas with Annabelle was enticing. They'd have the run of the place, save for a handful of other students. They could be together for a whole week and half, no interruptions, no problems, no Rowan bloody Summerby to interfere. He had hated Christmas for so many years because it had become an exercise in futility trying to get his family to accept him, or at least ease up on him and leave him in peace. Every year it was worse than the year before as his parents' desperation to assimilate him back into their ideology steadily increased. He didn't want Annabelle to ask again, because he knew she might change his mind with the promise of a happy Christmas, and he had to face them, even if it was for the last time. In fact, that was the plan. If they couldn't accept him for who he was and agree to leave well enough alone, he'd decided it would be the very last time they ever saw him.

She took his hand and kissed it. "I'll be here, waiting for you when it's over," she said.

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. His voice was filled with apprehension when he replied, "I'm counting on that."


	34. Shattered

**[A/N to the reader called "Anonymous": I'd prefer to address your specific questions in depth via PM, only because I don't like using Author's Notes for conversational purposes, so please sign in/register, and PM me next time. Your questions made me wonder if you've read the entire story? My answers: a little bit, no, and maybe. Any surface similarities with the characters you mentioned would be because the characters are friends, experiencing many of the same events together, and as friends often do, they share similar attitudes and interests (birds of a feather flock together). That being said, wh********ether she intended to or not, I don't think JKR made Lily and James appear particularly _deep_, so any similarities should end after that. **Also, I intentionally chose not to write Sirius or any of the Marauders as the stereotypical "bad" boys to begin with, just impulsive teenaged boys with human flaws and problems, which is implied directly and indirectly throughout the story. Realistically, I think most people mature at some point (coming of age) and at different rates, then go on to have relationships they wouldn't have had when they were tweens. They don't necessarily do a 360 change for another person, but they may learn about themselves and grow into who they want to be. OC Annabelle isn't Sirius's polar opposite, since they obviously have the same core values, nor would she be considered "uncool," but she was a bit judgmental and prone to assumptions when she was younger, and has a normal dose of teenage insecurity. Her reexamining her assumptions is a recurring theme. The dramatic irony that I hope is evident throughout first part of the story is that they both felt slighted by the other and put their guards up, all the while wishing that things could have been different. **The connection is formed when he becomes friends with her first and finds her endearing, without any pressure to conform or the phoniness he perceives in so many others (Elsinore, Dominica). Additionally, I purposely don't describe her appearance in detail, so the readers can imagine her however they want, but Sirius acknowledges and demonstrates on several occasions that he is attracted to her physically,** **so with all of that taken into consideration, I think it is plausible that by sixth year, after both naturally maturing some and getting to know each other, it could happen under the right circumstances, which the story provides. Lastly, I find "sweet and addictive" to be pretty much what I was going for, so thanks for that, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to analyze my own story! Hope that helps and I would love to chat more about my POV via _PM_ in the future, since long A/N's are very distracting! :)] **

* * *

That evening, the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the Great Hall together. The Quidditch Cup winners traditionally arrived together, and the students filling the hall would erupt in a standing ovation. Annabelle had always clapped along, even though it hadn't meant much to her. When she was younger, she had thought it somewhat unfair that they received extra special attention for winning at their activity. Did the Chess champion get such a warm reception in the Great Hall? What about the Gobstones champ? No. So why should the Quidditch team?

Now, she was on the other side of the equation; she was a member of the winning team. Even then she might have felt a bit silly, but after what she'd been through that semester for this team, and what they'd been through for her, she decided to squash her cynicism for an evening and allow herself to enjoy the moment. It had been excruciating work at times, and it had required more stamina and commitment than anything else she'd ever done at school, or ever really, including her studies. If anyone deserved to be applauded, she felt her teammates did, because Quidditch wasn't just a lark for them. It was a vocation; a way of life really, and they were great at it.

She wasn't expecting the boys to hoist her on their shoulders again, along with Caradoc, but since they'd both been injured, she knew it was important to the team to show their appreciation for them suffering in the name of Quidditch glory. She was even more surprised, and moved, when the students of Gryffindor House stood on their seats to pay tribute to their champions.

Caradoc called to her from his vantage point, "Annabelle!" and shot a victorious fist into the air. His excitement was contagious, and she responded with the same triumphant gesture, causing the Gryffindor table to hoot and cheer even louder. She saw Lily and Alice, and they were cheering and beaming with pride in her, and she focused on them until the boys finally let her down.

After a short ceremony where the Quidditch Cup was presented, she couldn't have been happier to finally sit and relax, but it was an event she'd never forget for the rest of her life.

"That was the wildest, craziest, and most twisted Quidditch season ever," Johnny B. said.

"Heck yeah," said James, "And we still managed to reign victorious. We are awesome. End of story."

"I have to agree," said Remus. "Purely as a spectator, I can say the Gryffindor matches were always the most exciting to watch."

"How's it feel to be a champion, Annie?" asked Caradoc.

"Exhausting," she replied. "But, I will admit it feels good as well."

Annabelle was also happy Quidditch was over for the year. She didn't think she'd miss it, mainly because it was too bloody cold now for it to be any fun. The idea of sleeping to a normal hour instead of waking up for practice at the crack of dawn delighted her. Not being nauseous all the time? Also a good thing. Not falling off a broom several times a day? The best. As much she adored her teammates and was proud she had veered out of her comfort zone by joining them; a break was definitely in order.

As to be expected, the Slytherin table was restrained and downcast; the team itself even more so because their idiotic plot didn't work. What a disgrace to their house they were. Otto Mingus was suspended until the end of January. Amycus Carrow escaped with merely a warning. No one could prove he had any ill intent, and as Remus had predicted, he got away with it.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

There was a week of school left before the Christmas holiday and she wanted to spend as much of it with Sirius as possible. She hoped he would change his mind about going home, but she knew his parents expected him, and she didn't want him to do anything that might bring about their wrath, so she stopped trying to convince him. He was preoccupied though, and it hurt her to see him suffering internally, knowing she couldn't do a thing about it. Monday morning arrived too quickly for Annabelle's liking as she was hoping to prolong the inevitable good-bye approaching at the end of the week. After class, Annabelle had to work in the library. Sirius had been escorting her there, then meeting her there again before Potions ever since the fight with Malachi, Dominica, and Elsinore, just to be on the safe side when it came to possible reprisals. He didn't want her to be alone in the halls at all. She had told him they'd be crazy to attack her outside the library, but then he reminded her that they actually were crazy, so she didn't protest.

At the door, he kissed her good-bye and as she turned to go, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.

"I have to go," she said between kisses as she wrapped her arms around him again.

"Okay," he replied, but didn't stop kissing her, nor did she want him to. He ran his hands down to her bum, which he promptly squeezed, causing her to inhale sharply in surprise.

"Naughty, Mr. Black," she scolded as he began kissing her neck. "No Hogsmeade for you, ever again."

"Promise?" he joked back, laughing into her neck between kisses.

Just then, the library door opened and some second-years walked into the foyer, giggling and whispering to each other when they saw the amorous pair. That was enough to stop them, and Annabelle and Sirius swiftly parted ways.

"See you soon," she said as she disappeared into the library and Sirius headed up to the common room.

A bit later, he came back down to meet her for Potions. He was always a bit early, in case Madam Wigworthy let her go a few minutes ahead of schedule. As he approached the flight of stairs that would lead to the library, he heard a male voice.

"Oh, Annabelle," it said. "Just one kiss?"

Sirius froze. He wasn't sure if he'd heard it correctly.

"This feels right," the voice said raggedly. "Doesn't it?"

Sirius hadn't looked down into the foyer yet, because he was listening, concerned that if he moved they'd hear him.

The response came as a sharp whisper, "_Yes,_ _Rowan_."

Sirius' eyes widened as he bolted to the top of the stairs, making it just in time to see Annabelle and Rowan parting lips and running off toward the back staircase that led down to Hufflepuff House. Sirius flew down the rest of stairs, but stopped in front of the library. He was stunned. He was confused. And he was shaking. At a loss for what to do, and not wanting to confront them since he already felt humiliated enough, he went to Potions.

Annabelle arrived a couple minutes late to class, hearing Dominica make a rude noise as she walked past her. She ignored her and sat down at her work table. Sirius was sitting back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest. He didn't acknowledge her when she sat down.

"Hey, Sirius," she whispered. But he wouldn't look at her. "Where were you? I waited for you in the library."

Nothing. No response. He looked like he was going to cry, or punch something.

"Did something happen?" she asked him.

Finally he turned and looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you tell me?"

Annabelle was confused. She thought maybe he was kidding with her, even though his facial expression didn't make her want to laugh.

"Did I do something?" she asked.

"Leave me alone, Annabelle," he replied, looking down at his parchment.

"Hold on. What did I do?" she asked, no longer whispering in her rising indignation.

Sirius slammed his hand down on their work table and she jumped as a small shriek escaped her throat. Everyone turned to look at them, including James and Lily.

"Is there a problem Mr. Black and Miss O'Neill?" Professor Slughorn asked them.

"No, sir," said Annabelle. "Sorry sir."

She tried to look at Sirius again, but he refused to make eye contact. Someone else was looking at her though. Malachi was trying to taunt her by attempting to stare her down. She glared back at him for a moment, but then he started to raise his middle finger at her. She looked away, disgusted.

"Sirius," she whispered. "Talk to me, please." She reached out and touched his arm but he recoiled much the same way he had when Elsinore had put her hand on him in the Great Hall.

"_Don't_ touch me," he fumed, not caring that he was speaking at regular volume; then ran his trembling hands through his hair in exasperation. "For fuck's sake, _don't_."

"Some students just never learn," Professor Slughorn said flatly. "Mr. Black, detention, tomorrow at ten AM. You can help me sort through the supply cabinet."

James and Lily looked back at them, their faces alarmed. Lily mouthed to Annabelle, "What's going on?" and Annabelle shrugged nervously.

She didn't try to talk to him again, lest he get himself into more trouble responding to her. She would have to talk to him after class. When class ended, Sirius stood up, gathered his things, and strode off toward the door without a word to anyone.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked a shaken Annabelle.

"I don't know," Annabelle replied. "He's upset with me, but he wouldn't talk to me about it."

"I'll find out," James said and went after his friend.

He caught up with Sirius who was heading up the stairs to Gryffindor tower.

"Padfoot," he said. "Stop. What's going on, mate?"

Sirius stopped but instead of turning around he rubbed his brow with the base of his palm and shook his head. He couldn't say the words. They were just so ludicrous to him, yet they were true. It was true.

"You're not yourself, mate," James said. "What's got into you? Did something happen with you and Annabelle?"

"You could say that," he spat bitterly.

"What? Just tell me."

Sirius muttered it quickly as though trying it on for size. "She kissed that Rowan fucker."

James didn't hear and taking a step closer, asked, "What was that?"

"I said she _kissed _that _Rowan Fucker_!" Sirius shouted, his voice cracking as he fought to compose himself.

"No way, man," said James, climbing the remaining steps to pat him on the back. "Impossible."

"I _saw_ her. With my own eyes!" he sputtered. "They took off before they saw me."

James, who was still incredulous, replied, "Are you sure it was her?"

"I'm not blind, mate!" Sirius snapped. "And he said her name. How many Annabelles do you know at Hogwarts that might have a Rowan after her?"

James shook his head. He couldn't believe it. Yet, Sirius claimed he saw her do it.

"Go to lunch without me," Sirius said. "I feel _sick_." With that, he charged up the stairs.

James turned back and headed to the Great Hall where he sat down in Sirius's regular spot between Annabelle and Remus. Claire had just arrived to talk to Remus, but James breezed past her with no acknowledgment, too set on solving the problem at hand to remember his manners.

"Where is he?" Annabelle asked.

"Pretty sure he went up to the common room," James responded. "Did you do it?" Everyone was listening.

"Do _what_?"

"Did you snog Rowan Summerby outside the library today?"

Everyone's eyes widened. Annabelle was appalled at the question. "Are you insane?"

"Not me," he replied. "Sirius said he saw it with his own eyes."

"Then he's hallucinating. I didn't do it," she said, panic rising in her voice. "I'd never do that."

Just then, Rowan Summerby walked past on his way to his seat at the Hufflepuff table, giving Annabelle an incriminating little wink and a wave as he went.

James, Remus, Claire, and Lily saw the subtle gesture, but the others missed it since they were on the other side of the table.

"Yeah, you did," James sneered; then left the table in order to go console his heartbroken friend.

Remus and Lily looked at her like they weren't sure what to think. Lily, looking very dismayed, asked, "Did you, Annabelle?"

Annabelle thought she was having a bad dream. Maybe if she pinched herself, but no, it was real. Her friends were all looking at her like they were disillusioned with her, even shocked by her, and she felt like she was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"No, I swear, I did not kiss him. I didn't even see him outside the library!" her voice becoming shrill as she defended herself, her heart pounding.

"Why would he say it if it weren't true," asked Caradoc, a look of hurt in his eyes, like he'd been fooled by her all this time.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out!"

Annabelle got up and frantically rushed out of the Great Hall, hoping to confront Sirius and get to the bottom of this. He had obviously mistaken someone else for her. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

No one moved, because no one wanted to appear nosy until Remus said, "I don't like this. We should go with her."

"I agree," said Lily.

They got up and jogged to catch up with Annabelle, Remus pulling Claire along with him since it didn't feel right to just leave her standing there. She smiled when he took her hand. Alice and Johnny B. went too, but Fairfax and Caradoc decided to stay out of it and Peter just didn't care enough to abandon his lunch.

Annabelle stepped through the portrait hole, but no one was in the common room. She knew he must be upstairs, but she couldn't bring herself to set foot in the boys' dorms. It felt so invasive, considering he'd gone there to escape her. He couldn't stay up there forever, or if he wasn't there, he'd have to return at some point, and just as she'd resigned herself to waiting him out, Remus arrived, with Lily, Claire, Johnny B., and Alice right behind him.

"He has to be up there, right?" Annabelle asked Remus.

"I'll go see if I can convince him talk to you," he offered.

The girls and Johnny B. stood waiting, Claire looking around curiously at the foreign common room, and a few minutes later, Remus came back down the stairs, followed by James who went straight to Lily's side, then Sirius who stood on the last step, leaning against the doorway. He looked at Annabelle.

"Maybe we should wait outside," suggested Remus and the others reluctantly agreed.

Once the portrait hole closed, Annabelle said, "What can I say to convince you that I didn't do it?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nothing. I saw you. Can you understand that? I _saw_ you!"

"You couldn't have _seen_ me, because I didn't do it!" she exclaimed. "Why would I do something like that near the library where I was expecting you any minute?"

"Maybe you wanted to get caught," he said. "You could have just done the kind thing and told me you wanted to be with him instead of humiliating me."

"But I don't want to be with him. That's just not true. Why can't you believe that?"

"I SAW YOU, ANNABELLE!"

"NO, YOU DIDN'T!"

"I have been such a fool. I knew I should have left well enough alone," he griped.

"What was that? You should have left well enough alone?" she questioned. "Why that sounds an awful lot like regret to me. You have been regretting me, haven't you?"

"No, not at all, at least not until I saw you snogging your ridiculous crush."

"Ah ha! Yes, that's what you're doing!" she laughed wildly. "You're trying get rid of me by making up a story about me cheating on you so you won't look like a tosser. I had a feeling you were having second thoughts in the hospital ward Saturday, but you needn't have gone to such trouble. All you had to do was say 'I used you for Quidditch, Annabelle. _We're through._'"

"Are you off your rocker? Used you for Quidditch? Why would you think that?" He looked at her like she'd just wounded him all over again.

Annabelle broke down. She covered her eyes and turned toward the back of the sofa, holding onto it for support as her body convulsed with sobs. Seeing her like that momentarily made him want to reach out to her, to comfort her, but then he remembered what he had seen, and any hint of warmth was replaced with disgust.

"I'll say it now. We're through," he avowed. "Now go run off to Rowan."

She didn't say anymore, nor did she look at him as she quickly exited through the portrait hole.

"What happened Annabelle?" Lily asked her as she pushed past them and dashed down the stairs.

"Just let me be alone for a bit," Annabelle said, then shouted threateningly as she disappeared into a corridor below, "_Don't_ follow me!"

She went straight to her secret tower, taking advantage of the fact that most of the students were still at lunch in the Great Hall. She hadn't even thought to grab her invisibility cloak, but she had needed desperately to get away from him, so she probably would have forgone it even it had occurred to her to trek up to her room to retrieve it. Thankfully, no one was nearby when she slipped behind the pillar and through the crack in the wall, running up the circling stairs until she reached the top, and slammed herself down against the wall. She skipped her afternoon classes and stayed there all day, thinking, crying, trying to make sense of it all, but not succeeding.

Drusilla had educated them all on what it felt like to be dumped. How you wouldn't want to eat, get out of bed, or talk to anyone. You'd just want to sleep because it meant not being conscious for the gutting pain. Annabelle now felt Drusilla was spot on in her assessment, because she wanted to go to sleep in order to escape the feeling of a metaphorical bus smashing into her every time his words repeated in her head. She didn't know how she could face anyone ever again, especially since he didn't only dump her, he humiliated her by accusing her of something so beneath her, something she had never even considered doing because it just wasn't who she was. How could he think she would? Hadn't they been in love? Maybe she had been blinded by him; his charm, his looks, his endearing kindness to her in her darker moments, the laughter they had shared… It was possible she had blocked out the simple truth that he was apparently an asshole, just as she'd originally thought. Maybe she should have listened to Dominica from the beginning. She also wondered if she'd have a friend left in the world now that they all thought she was a duplicitous cheat.

She hadn't eaten anything at lunch, so at dinner time she ventured out of her sanctuary to sneak down to the kitchens where she knew the house-elves would feed her. Izzy gave her a chicken pie with chips, which Annabelle doused in vinegar. She only ate a few bites of it though when she started to feel bereft again, and couldn't endure another sour mouthful.

"Izzy hopes everything is alright for Lady Annabelle," the young elf said.

Annabelle didn't bother to tell her to knock it off with the 'Lady' rubbish this time, since she was evidently going to call her that regardless of what Annabelle said.

"It's not alright," she said, choking up with tears.

Izzy frowned and asked, "What can Izzy do to help?"

"Nothing, Izzy. It's just... my heart hurts... I don't think there is anything to be done about it," she said hopelessly.

Izzy just looked at her sadly, and said, "Izzy believes that love is, at times, a volatile magic, but when the smoke fades, all becomes clear."

Annabelle started to feel foolish, burdening this busy little elf with her drama. "You're right, Izzy," she said. "I'll survive. Please, don't worry. And thank you for dinner. I am so grateful."

Izzy took her plate and Annabelle wandered off into the corridor, finally deciding she couldn't prolong it any longer since she was tired and wanted her bed. She returned to Gryffindor tower, took a deep breath, and stepped into the common room. Much to her relief, it was empty, since the students were still at dinner. She went to her room and climbed into bed, not even bothering to change her clothes. Just as she finally started to drift off, Lily and Alice clunked into the room, their loud footfalls and whispers waking her up.

"Thank goodness, she's here," said Alice quietly.

Annabelle kept her eyes closed though, secretly willing them to leave her alone.

"Annabelle." Lily's resonant voice caused Annabelle to jump because she didn't realize she was standing directly over her. So much for pretending to be asleep.

"_Please_," Annabelle groaned, a fresh tear falling onto her pillowcase. "I just want to sleep."

"You can't just hide all day," Alice said. "We were worried sick about you. We even looked for you at one point."

"Professor McGonagall wants to see you, right now. She sent us to see if you were here and to escort you to her office," Lily explained.

"You didn't tell her anything about Sirius did you?" Annabelle asked.

"Of course not," she replied.

"Tell her I'm sick. Tell her anything," Annabelle replied. "I can't bear to talk about this with her right now."

"Annie, she wants to see you. Let's go," said Alice.

Annabelle sobbed softly as she tried to muster the strength to lift her head. Once she was seated, she bent over to pull her shoes on and Lily said, "You ran off so fast earlier and you were so upset. We wanted to talk to you."

"You mean no one told you what he said?"

"We know he is saying it's over," said Lily. "James told us. Sirius didn't come to dinner."

"We don't believe it though," added Alice. "He's distraught. He'll realize he made a mistake soon."

"So you believe me when I say I didn't do it?" asked Annabelle.

Lily glanced uncomfortably at Alice, and said, "Honestly, it did seem suspicious that he was so adamant that he saw you with Rowan, and then there's Rowan winking at you during lunch-"

"It was a coincidence, that's _all_," Annabelle cried.

"We believe you," assured Alice as Lily nodded in agreement. "We know you wouldn't lie."

"Let's go," said Lily. "She's waiting for you."

"He's not downstairs, is he?" asked Annabelle.

"He wasn't when we came up here," she replied.

Annabelle nodded and followed her friends down the stairs. Sirius was not there, much to Annabelle's relief, but several other students were and they stared at her as she left the common room. The sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins had all been present for Sirius's outburst in Potions, and word traveled fast at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall opened the door to her office and ushered Annabelle inside.

"Please wait here," she said to Lily and Alice before closing the door behind her.

She showed Annabelle to a chair and went to sit behind her desk.

"What happened today?" she asked gently. "You missed classes, you were absent from dinner, and you look a mess."

Annabelle was caught off guard by her candidness.

"I'm just not feeling well," she replied.

"Did you visit Madam Pomfrey?"

She shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"And why not?"

"Because, Professor, I just wanted to sleep," she replied. It wasn't a lie.

"I noticed Mr. Black wasn't at dinner either," Professor McGonagall said. "Your absence wouldn't have anything to do with his, now would it?"

Of all the things to be accused of at that moment, it had to be sneaking off with Sirius.

"Absolutely not, Professor. I haven't seen him all evening, I swear."

Professor McGonagall gave her pitying look, realizing that by the state of her, she was probably telling the truth.

"Is there something else you'd like to tell me?" she asked the dejected girl.

"No, Professor," she replied. She wanted to tell her, but the hurt was too fresh. She didn't want to bawl like a Mandrake in front of her.

"If you are still feeling ill in the morning, you are to report to Madam Pomfrey. Otherwise, I expect you to be in class tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Annabelle replied.

"You may go."

Annabelle got up to leave and as she opened the door, Professor McGonagall said, "If you need to talk, Annabelle, my door is always open."

She nodded and said, "Thank you, Professor," then closed the door behind her.

The girls walked back to the common room in silence, since Annabelle didn't want to talk about it. By that time, the room was packed with students, and again people stared and some whispered, but her friends led her quickly to the stairs. Annabelle didn't bother to look for Sirius. She just wanted to get back in her bed. Lily and Alice made her wash her face and brush her teeth though, and she was taken aback when she saw her own swollen, bloodshot eyes and raw cheeks in the mirror. She looked away, finished cleaning herself up, and went to straight to bed. Sleep took pity on her and washed over her like a balm, sending hours of sweet relief from the searing pain. She opened her eyes again in the early morning darkness to a beam of moonlight streaking across the ceiling. The memory of what had happened came upon her like a Bludger, and she felt her silent tears roll back over her temples and into her ears.


	35. Too Far

The following morning, Annabelle still felt like she had been knocked off her broom, but the urge to sob her guts out was weakening since the initial shock of what had happened began wearing off. Lily and Alice had gone to breakfast, leaving a note saying they figured she wouldn't want to join them, but they'd bring her something to eat before class.

She sat on her bed for a moment, and thought about how she would face Sirius. The sweet little music box that he gave her sat on her nightstand and she picked it up and opened it. The fairy danced as the music played, and Annabelle's eyes clouded with tears. She shut it and put it back, resisting the urge to throw it through a window. Stage two of heartbreak was anger, Drusilla had informed them.

Professor McGonagall had warned her not to cut class again, so she decided to get her act together and get ready. She went to take a shower and ran into Mary MacDonald, a seventh-year she didn't know very well, but who always seemed rather pleasant. She frowned in sympathy when she saw Annabelle, which led her to believe that there wasn't anyone that didn't know what had happened.

"Are you alright?" Mary greeted her.

Annabelle nodded and replied, "You alright?"

"Might I offer you a word of advice, love?" she asked as she stared into the mirror, slathering on mascara.

"Sure," said Annabelle, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. The last thing she wanted to hear was unsolicited advice on love and heartbreak.

"Count your blessings you're rid of him," she said. "He's a corker that one, and a doll to boot. Always was. But not worth it, trust me."

"Why do you say that?" Annabelle asked, still feeling defensive toward him for some reason.

"To start, his family most likely know all about you and I guarantee they will be pulling out all the stops as far as damage control."

"I know that," Annabelle said. "Wait, damage control?"

"They will try to get you out of the picture, dear," she explained slowly, like Annabelle was a five-year-old. "Gone. Bye-bye. Out of sonny-boy's life forever."

"Well, they missed their chance," Annabelle said. "It's done already."

"Thank your lucky stars. His lot are all loose cannons," Mary said. "Remember his cousin Narcissa? Sirius and that loon used to fight like crazy. Dueling in the hallways, pranking each other at every turn. You don't remember that?"

Annabelle had little memory of Sirius's cousin, who had been a sixth year when Annabelle had started at Hogwarts. She knew they didn't get along though; the whole school knew that. At the time, Annabelle had no interest in their comings and goings, but did remember how brazen they were in their animosity for one another.

"He's calmed down a bit though, hasn't he?"

"Perhaps. One would hope anyway," she replied. "You never know, though."

"Right, well, thanks for the advice, but I'm not sure it matters anymore," Annabelle said, and disappeared into the shower. She knew Mary meant well, but she couldn't count her blessings that he was out of her life, not when he'd been such a blessing. Or so she thought. She was beginning to feel numb, but it was better than the shattering pain.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Lily and Alice left breakfast a few minutes early so they could get a head start with Annabelle to History of Magic. Annabelle had wanted to be in her seat when Sirius got there to avoid confrontation. Their assigned seats were on opposite sides of the classroom, so they managed to dodge each other entirely. Annabelle willed herself not to look at him in an effort to pretend he didn't exist, the theory being that if she could convince herself he wasn't there, she couldn't miss him anymore. She had almost succeeded, but at the end of class she lost her battle of wills with herself and glanced over at him. The pain instantly throbbed inside of her as he gathered his books and left, not looking at her once.

Since there was a break between classes, and Annabelle didn't have to work in the library on Tuesdays, she went to lie down in her room while Johnny B. and Alice worked on their assignments in the common room. She knew Johnny B. would want to analyze the situation with her, and she just didn't have the strength for that yet. Lily had gone for a walk with James, but she told Annabelle she'd be back in time to go to class early with her. Even though she knew she should be doing some school work, she chose sleep instead, and soon fell into a deep slumber.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After History of Magic, Sirius headed to the Potions lab for his detention. He had spent the majority of class hoping he wouldn't be confronted with Annabelle. It hurt to think about her, let alone see her. Yesterday, he had been unaware that nobody knew where she was most of the day. James told him that she had gone off by herself somewhere and he felt a pang of guilt that something could have happened to her, but of course the following thought was that she might have been with Rowan, so he just pushed it all out of his head. If he kept agonizing over it, he might take his anger out on Rowan himself, even though he knew Annabelle was a willing participant. He wished he could erase her from his consciousness.

It didn't help that his friends weren't sure whether or not they believed him. James did at first, but then after talking to Lily, he told Sirius that maybe he needed glasses. As if he wouldn't recognize Annabelle. Remus thought maybe he misheard the name, but he most definitely had not. It had all been as clear as a bell. And you can't unring a bell.

When he entered the Potions lab, he was irritated to see Snivellus there, sucking up to Slughorn as usual. Neither boy acknowledged the other.

"Why hello there, Mr. Black. Glad to see you're on time. Come right this way," said Professor Slughorn. He led him to the massive supply cabinet at the front of the room, and handed him a parchment that had a checklist on it a mile long. "Just go through and check off the ones that are full, and circle the ones that are half full. The rest, leave blank. Don't mind Severus. He's volunteered to brew some potions for me, but he shouldn't be in your way."

Sirius had done this task before during detention. It was tedious, but it could be quite soothing when done alone. Severus being present made it difficult to zone out though, especially since he seemed to be purposely getting in front of him to borrow ingredients. Sirius was in no mood for this git.

"What would I do without you, Severus?" Slughorn cooed as Sirius silently mimicked him behind his back. "You are a gem."

Sirius began to work faster, hoping that if he finished early, he'd be let go. Of course, as he kneeled down to check the bottles in the bottom of the cabinet, Severus got right in front of him again, standing there with his ripped robes dangling in Sirius's face. He waited, trying to stay calm. This aggravating dance of Sirius making progress, then stopping for Severus went on for some time causing Sirius's blood to boil.

"Alright boys, I'll be back in a moment. Have to drop off some equipment invoices to the Headmaster," said Slughorn. "Severus, keep an eye on things for me."

As if Sirius couldn't be trusted and needed Snivellus as a babysitter. This had to be the worst detention in the history of detentions, he thought to himself as he continued taking inventory. He was about halfway through when Severus pushed in front of him again.

"Do you mind?" Sirius snapped. "Unlike you, I'd actually like to get out of here today."

Severus sneered, "Oh, I'm ever so sorry. Am I in your way?

Sirius's eyes narrowed and he replied, "Watch yourself. Your mates aren't here to protect you."

"As if I'd need protection from you," Severus retorted.

Sirius laughed sharply as Severus momentarily flinched. "Keep it up and you will," Sirius warned. "I'm no longer afraid of being expelled."

Slughorn reappeared then, and chirped, "Making progress boys?"

"Yes, sir," said Severus. Sirius didn't respond. He picked up his pace, and since Severus decided not to get in his way again, Sirius was able to finish the task slightly ahead of time.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Annabelle was ripped from dreamland by Alice tapping her on the arm. "Annabelle, wake up."

She sat up straight in bed and stammered, "Is it time for class?"

"No, not yet. There's a first year at the door saying that Professor Flitwick would like to see you. About some assignment or something."

"Crikey, why?" Annabelle whimpered as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"Take your books since you don't know how long you'll be," advised Alice.

Alice decided to go with her, but when they exited through the portrait hole, Remus and Claire were sitting on the step talking. Annabelle wondered if they had walked in on something, but rapidly surmised that they had actually just been talking. There was no deer-in-headlights look, no forcing themselves to appear composed, and Annabelle felt like telling them to "get a broom closet" just to see them blush, but she knew the type of humour she'd picked up from her Quidditch teammates would go over like a lead balloon with those two.

Remus had been about to walk Claire to her class, and offered to go with Annabelle to see Flitwick on their way. Annabelle was finding this whole buddy system extremely annoying these days, but attempting to figure out Remus and Claire's relationship gave her something to focus on besides her own misery. And unlike Alice, she knew these two wouldn't bring up the topic of Sirius with her.

"I'm meant to escort her there," said the little Slytherin first-year who was waiting on the steps. "No one else."

"Does it really matter who escorts her there?" Remus asked the girl.

"Flitwick told ME to bring her to him," she retorted.

"Bugger. Off." Annabelle commanded. She had no desire to suffer fools.

Remus had to stifle a laugh before saying, "I think she's telling you to run along now. We'll see that she gets to Flitwick."

They started down the stairs but noticed the little brat was still ahead of them, occasionally turning back to see if they were following.

"I guess she really wants to do her job," said Claire, and Remus and Annabelle nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for walking with me," Annabelle said.

"It's no problem," said Remus. "We were headed that way anyway."

Finally the first-year darted off down a corridor and was gone.

"Bye-bye pest," Annabelle quipped.

When they arrived at the corridor where the Charms classroom was located, Annabelle said, "You don't have to come with me to see him."

"We'll wait here for you," Remus said, as he and Claire sat on a bench together in a little alcove.

Annabelle rounded the corner and walked down to the classroom. The door was closed. Annabelle knocked but there was no answer. She turned the knob slowly and peeked in. All the lights were out and Professor Flitwick was not there.

"Huh," said Annabelle. "He must have stepped out."

Just then she heard a cackling like a Bavarian Erkling, echoing from further down the hall by a different staircase than from which she'd come. Annabelle recognized it instantly as the laughter of Elsinore Collins. She instinctively looked in the direction of the grating noise.

"It's about time I got you into my arms," Elsinore's voice rang out, "and away from that filthy mudblood!"

Before she could turn away, a horrifying sight played out before her eyes. Elsinore staggered backwards to the landing of the stairs, pulling a grinning Sirius by the tie down after her. She promptly pushed him against a wall and they briefly kissed each other so hard that it almost looked like they were gnawing at each other's mouths before she took him by the hand and pulled him off down the stairs behind her.

Annabelle couldn't breathe. She felt her skin prickle in shock and embarrassment as she tried to unsee it. Her head was throbbing and she was simultaneously injured and disgusted by what she'd seen, so much so that she was speechless. Remus and Claire exchanged worried glances at each other when she reappeared in front of them, looking perplexed and shaken.

"That was fast," Remus said.

"He wasn't there," she replied. "I'm going to class."

She felt the tears stinging her eyes as she jogged down the stairs. Class would be starting soon and she didn't want to be late.

"Annabelle, wait!" Remus called after her. "Are you okay?"

She barely heard him, for her own thoughts were blasting through her head, blocking everything else out around her. Leave it to a Sirius to fall straight into the arms of someone else after breaking up with his girlfriend. Of course, why was she surprised? Elsinore was obviously the reason he'd dumped her. All along, people had been telling her he'd been using her for one reason of another and she smugly chose to ignore it. Elsinore herself had warned Annabelle that she was just a means to an end; a way to rile his parents. Mary MacDonald had been right. His issues went beyond anything she was prepared to handle, but he'd certainly had her going for a while, making her think he was a caring, decent person.

As she was turning the corner that led to the corridor where Transfiguration was located, she ploughed right into Sirius who was coming from the other direction. She stumbled back onto the floor, dropping her books and parchment.

Sirius instantly bent to help her up, but she wouldn't have it.

"Keep your hands off me," she snarled at him as she stood up on her own.

He faltered for a moment, then bent to help Remus and Claire pick up her things.

"Don't bother!" she snapped.

He was so incensed by her audacity to be angry at him after what she had done, that he threw the parchment back to the floor.

"Sirius," said Remus, "Just go."

"Yes, just go. Go to your pure-blood princess," Annabelle taunted, as she gathered the papers he'd dropped.

Sirius's eyes flashed with fury. "How dare you? After what you did?"

"Here we go again with what I did. Would you come off it already? I did nothing! But congratulations on your reunion with your first love. It was an honor to be taken for a ride by you."

"What in the bloody hell are you squawking about now?" he asked.

"Oh, that wasn't you and Elsinore eating each other's faces off a few moments ago? Now you can add 'made an arse out of Dumbledore's Darling' to the list of admirable things you have in common with your fiendish girlfriend. What? Didn't think I knew about that charming name, did ya?"

A small crowd had begun to form around the arguing pair, including some of their housemates who were on their way to class. Lily appeared with the others, her jaw dropping at the horrid way they were speaking to each other.

"Annabelle! Stop it!" she scolded, but the pair fought on.

"That's rich, Annabelle," sniped Sirius, "but not very creative. We all know it's you who likes snogging people in stairwells and then lying through your teeth about it. So honorable she is; Darien O'Neill's granddaughter. Tell me, how would Granddad feel knowing you're a duplicitous fraud?"

"You are both going too far!" warned Lily. "Stop it, now!"

Annabelle glared at him, no longer seeing the boy she loved, but a proud smirking tosser who didn't care whom he hurt.

"I saw you," she said. "And unlike you, I am not lying about it."

"Nice try, but I was detained in the Potions lab with Slughorn until a few minutes ago. Ask Snivellus."

His gray eyes pierced her with such intensity that her guard came crashing down. She began to cry. "You said you loved me."

With that, Sirius's brow momentarily knitted and his eyes glistened with tears which he quickly blinked away.

"I did," he replied. "You obviously didn't feel the same."

"I can't do this," Annabelle said. She tore off toward Gryffindor Tower, the crowd parting for her. She didn't care about class. She didn't care about anything at that moment except getting away from him.

"I'll go with her," said Lily to Alice. "Tell McGonagall we won't be in class."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Annabelle collapsed on her bed, shaking and bereaved. Why wouldn't this nightmare end, she asked the universe, but there was no reply. The wound was reopened when she saw him kissing her, and she didn't know how much more her already shattered heart could bear.

Lily kneeled beside her bed and rubbed her back, trying to provide comfort.

"Shh, Annabelle," she soothed. "It's going to be okay."

After a few minutes, Annabelle had exhausted herself from crying and just lay there, motionless.

"It's isn't your fault, Annie," Lily said. "He's not what we thought he was."

Annabelle sighed and nodded her head against her pillow as Lily wiped her wet cheeks with a handkerchief.

"I know you loved him, but you will love again, you'll see."

"I thought he loved me," croaked Annabelle. "I believed him."

"Maybe he did," said Lily. "But it doesn't matter because you deserve better. I can't believe he ran to Elsinore Collins of all people. He put on such a good show of despising her. He had us all fooled."

"I'm the biggest fool," replied Annabelle in a barely audible voice.

"No, you are not a fool for loving someone. That is never foolish."

The lump in Annabelle's throat gave way again as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Is there a potion to stop feelings?" she asked.

"I don't think so," said Lily.

"Maybe your old chum Severus could invent one. Tell him it's for you so he doesn't try to poison me with it."

Lily chuckled and replied, "I don't think he'd do it for me either, even if it were possible, which it's not."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After Annabelle had run off, Sirius had turned back toward class. He had originally planned to go up to his room for his books, not thinking his detention would be longer than an hour, but after his encounter with Annabelle, he had no time. He was shaking from the unexpected meeting and his mind was racing as he stormed off to Transfiguration ahead of his friends. When he got there, he sat down in his seat and borrowed a piece of parchment and a quill from Peter, who had clearly missed the terrible scene. He rested an elbow on the desk, and with his head in his hand he gazed out the window, trying to keep his emotions in check. The pain from seeing Annabelle kiss Rowan had almost broken him, but now she was rubbing salt in his wounds by accusing him of doing the same thing? By making up stories to vindicate herself?

But, what awful things he had just said to her. How could he bring up her grandfather? She didn't deserve that, no matter what she'd done. It was all so absurd that he almost couldn't believe it was happening. Her tears were killing him inside and she was so resolute in her claim that she hadn't done it that he almost believed her. Yet, he saw her do it.

Professor McGonagall instantly sensed tension as the students arrived, overhearing bits of conversation here and there. From Sirius Black's countenance and his friends' unusually subdued nature she could conclude that the drama involved them somehow. Of course it did. But it wasn't until Alice Prewett approached her, telling her that Annabelle O'Neill had taken ill again and that Lily Evans was with her, that she started putting the pieces together. She kept class short, letting the students go fifteen minutes early. She told them to consider it her Christmas present to them, but to keep quiet in the halls until all classes were dismissed. Then she made her way up to Gryffindor Tower.

Johnny B. had been eager to check on Annabelle, but she was always hiding in her room. He followed the professor along with Alice while the rest of them went to the Great Hall to await lunch.

"Professor, do you think you could do something about the steps to the girls' dorm so I could see her?" Johnny B. asked Professor McGonagall.

"Why should I do that?" she asked him. "If she wants to speak to you, she knows where to find you."

"I'm just worried about her. I'm worried about both of them," he said.

McGonagall wasn't sure of the whole story yet, but his words only solidified her assumptions about what was taking place. It involved the both of them, the other undoubtedly being Sirius Black, which could mean one thing and one thing only.

"We'll see, Mr. Bemis. First, I would like to speak with her. You shall wait in the common room."

Alice led her up to their dorm room where Lily and Annabelle were both on their beds looking glum. Both girls stood up in surprise to see her there, as Professor McGonagall rarely ventured into the students' dorms.

"Might I have a word with Miss O'Neill alone?" McGonagall asked.

"Of course, Professor," said Lily.

Annabelle looked to her friends nervously who slinked off to the common room. She braced herself for the admonition. She had skipped class again after being told not to.

"Sit down, Annabelle," she said, sensing the girl's trepidation. "I'm not here to reprimand you."

Annabelle sat back down on her bed as McGonagall looked out the window. She sighed at the midday darkness; it was snowing buckets outside and the wind was whipping it all about.

After a moment she turned to Annabelle and said, "You're heartbroken."

Professor McGonagall was perceptive, Annabelle thought, and nodded once in affirmation.

"And I think I can safely assume that Mr. Black is the culprit?"

She nodded again.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" McGonagall asked.

"He accused me of betraying him with another. Then he did that same thing of which he had accused me," she mumbled, a bit embarrassed.

"I see," Professor McGonagall replied. "And you say you didn't betray him?"

"I would never," she said flatly.

"How do you know he betrayed you in turn?"

"I saw him, Professor," Annabelle replied. "I saw him… kissing her."

"Does he deny this?"

"Yes, ma'am. He does."

"How very curious indeed."

Annabelle nodded and waited. She felt awkward telling her this, but at the same time, it felt good to tell it to someone who would believe her over Sirius.

McGonagall looked around and spied the music box, reached for it, then said to Annabelle, "May I?"

"Of course, Professor."

She looked at the front of it and said, "Chéadsearc," pronouncing the word that was painted on the box in a way that wouldn't have occurred to Annabelle.

"Sirius gave it to me. We don't know what that means," said Annabelle.

McGonagall opened it up and watched the fairy dance.

"This is quite lovely," she said. "And so you know, chéadsearc means 'first love' in Irish Gaelic."

Annabelle felt her lower lip begin to tremble. McGonagall closed the music box and put it back on the night table.

"Listen dear," she said. "I know there is nothing I can say to make the hurt go away. And I can't pretend to know the intricacies of your relationship with Mr. Black. Sadly, life doesn't play by our rules most of the time, but there is always a silver lining."

"I don't see it," Annabelle said.

"No, but you will," she replied. "I have taught for many years and I can tell you that there are only two things that will come of this, and two things only. Either you and Mr. Black will work out your issues and be back in each other's good graces by New Year's, or you will grieve and move on. In the end, to quote Alfred Lord Tennyson, the famous Muggle poet, 'Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'..."

Annabelle didn't think she'd ever be happy again.

"The point being, that you will survive, and you will eventually feel like yourself again."

"I hope so."

"I speak from experience, Annabelle. It is a rite of passage. The only way to avoid it is to never love anyone. And then you are miserable in another way."

"Thank you, Professor," she replied.

"Think nothing of it, dear," she said. "All in a day's work. Now, I have a very concerned Mr. Bemis waiting patiently in the common room for me to remove the charm on the stairs so he might pay you a visit. Since you are determined to be a recluse in your room all day, I have agreed to it just this once. Are you comfortable with that?"

Annabelle grinned and nodded.

"The charm will be removed for thirty minutes, after which it will automatically be back in place. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please, come see me if you need anything. Anything at all," Professor McGonagall said.

"I will, Professor. Thank you."

A moment later after she'd gone, Annabelle heard Johnny B.'s voice carrying up the stairs.

"I'm coming for you, Annabelle. No more hiding!"

Of course, Johnny B. would be the one to make her laugh at a time like this. He came bounding into the room followed by Lily and Alice, and pulled Annabelle into his arms for a giant bear hug. She immediately choked up again, not able to fight the flood of despair as it rushed over her.

"That's it, let it out," Johnny B. said in a calming voice as he squeezed her tightly.

"I miss him so much," she cried into Johnny B.'s shirt.

"I know you do," Johnny B. said. "I know."


	36. Discovery

Once Annabelle had sufficiently wet Johnny B.'s shirt with her tears, and he'd dried it with the hot air charm, they all sat down on Annabelle and Lily's beds for a chat.

"Annie, have you been avoiding me?" he asked as he gave her hair a tug.

"No, well sort of. I just haven't felt like talking much, and I knew you'd make me."

"Who the hell lives in that putrid corner of the room?" Johnny B. asked as he eyed an unmade bed with stuff scattered all over it, and on the floors and night table as well. He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

The girls snickered as Alice answered, "Dominica. It's not usually quite that bad, but she only comes here to sleep now. She just throws her stuff everywhere and never cleans it up, even though all it would take to fix it would be a few flicks of a wand. Lazy cow."

"I bet Lorelei loves that," he said with an impish smile.

"She threatens to burn all of her stuff on a daily basis," said Lily. "I am starting to wish she would."

"Me too," agreed Annabelle.

"Now, now, kittens. Retract the claws for a moment," he teased. "Merlin! The others are going to go crazy when they find out they missed their chance to come up here."

"It's not that special," said Alice.

"It's forbidden," said Johnny B. "That makes it special. So, what the hell is going on around here? I'm so confused."

"That makes two us," said Annabelle.

"That makes all of us," added Lily.

"You say you didn't do it, he says he saw you do it," Johnny B. said. "And before you say he's lying… I just don't think he's like that, Annabelle."

Annabelle felt her indignation rising. "So I _am_ like that?"

"No," Johnny B. said. "You aren't. That is why this whole thing is so bizarre. I mean, could you have been sleep walking or something?"

"In the middle of the day? Really?"

"Right, it was the middle of the day," he replied.

"And there is no way he was sleep walking today. Not the way they were kissing, if you could even call it kissing. It was more like chewing-"

"Please, don't describe it any further," Alice interjected with a shudder. "She is so wretched."

"But she's beautiful, and a Pureblood," Annabelle said.

"She is monstrous," countered Lily. "Do you think Sirius is that shallow?"

"I didn't think so," she replied. "But now that I saw it with my own eyes, I am starting to think otherwise."

"He is not," admonished Johnny B. "He has never once in all the years I've known him expressed any interest in her, even when she was forcing him to be her pretend boyfriend during second year."

"Well, he certainly was interested in her today. In her tonsils, to be specific," Annabelle said.

"Revolting," replied Alice.

"Maybe he was just trying to pay you back for what you did- I mean what he _thought_ you did with Rowan," Johnny B. suggested. "I think you should talk to him."

"Why? So they can put on another show for the whole school?" asked Alice. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Me either," said Lily, who was still having flashbacks to the one she had just witnessed.

"I just want to lock the two of you in a broom closet until you work it out." Johnny B. said. "One of you has to be a really talented liar."

Annabelle frowned. "You doubt my integrity?"

"Aww, Annie," he said. "You are both so difficult to doubt. But even if you are lying, I'll still love you. I'll just think you're crazy as a Runespoor."

Annabelle laughed, despite being bothered by the idea that nobody knew if they could believe her or not.

Johnny B. picked up the music box.

"What in Merlin's beard does Chéadsearc mean?" he asked. Annabelle smiled because it sounded so funny when he said it.

"You're saying it wrong. It's pronounced _khayd_shark," she corrected him, imitating the way Professor McGonagall had pronounced it. "It means first love."

Lily frowned, and said, "That's sweet. And he gave it to you. Your first love."

Alice and Johnny B. nodded wistfully in agreement.

"It's meaningless, now," Annabelle muttered.

"No, it's not," said Lily. "I just can't believe it's over with you two. There is something so unnatural about it all, don't you think?"

"Maybe," said Annabelle. "But then again, maybe we never really know people. Maybe he _was _just using me to upset his parents."

"I told you, he's not like that," said Johnny B. "But if it is over, you just have to get back on the horse. And that starts with coming out of your room. Now let's go to lunch before you die of malnourishment." He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her off the bed. "Good, you've got your shoes on, someone toss her a hairbrush."

Lily took Annabelle's brush from her night stand and tossed it to her and she began taming her bed head.

"Johnny B., it just happened yesterday. Isn't it a bit soon to 'get back on the horse?'" she questioned.

"Maybe," he replied, "but you can still make an appearance at lunch. Let the world know he didn't break you. You're looking a bit pale. Pinch your cheeks."

"Why should the world notice if I'm at lunch or not?" she asked as she followed Johnny B.'s directive.

"Annabelle, if Hogwarts had a newspaper, you two would be front page news. Alright, that's better," he said. "To lunch we go. Hold your head high like the Quidditch goddess you are."

Annabelle smiled, but the last thing she felt like was a Quidditch goddess. She felt like the joke of the school. Or like Sirius Black's token Mudblood. Her anxiety returned as she made her way down to the Great Hall with her friends. Before they reached their destination, though, Rowan Summerby appeared, walking toward them. Annabelle's heart lurched with dread.

"Hello, Annabelle," he said, "I was just looking for you."

Johnny B., Lily, and Alice didn't hide their suspicion very well, glancing at each other and at Annabelle rather disapprovingly.

"Um, why?" Annabelle asked.

"Can I talk to you in private?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

"Just for a moment. It's personal," he said, glimpsing her friends uncomfortably.

"I don't even know you. What could you possibly have to tell me that's personal?"

"Okay, I see what you're doing. Still pretending."

"Pretending what?" she asked, genuinely floored that he was speaking to her that way.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that I am back with Darcy now. So…uh… please don't come looking for me outside my common room anymore and no more dates in the dungeon."

Annabelle looked at him like he was crazy, and gave an exasperated chuckle.

"Did someone put you up to this?" she demanded. "I have never looked for you outside your common room, nor have I ever met you in a dungeon. Why would I do that? I had a boyfriend until you started popping up everywhere." She couldn't bear to look at her friends, because even she knew that this made her look very guilty indeed.

"Wow, you are beyond barmy, aren't you?" he asked derisively. "Honestly, it might have worked out, except that when you kissed me the other day, I didn't appreciate you biting my tongue. You drew blood, you loon. I think it's infected now."

Alice wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Annabelle was shaking with indignation when she said, "If you don't turn and walk away from me right now, I cannot be held responsible for how lethally I curse you,"

He shook his head condescendingly and muttered, "Wacko." He did what she ordered though, and walked away.

"What was that?" Johnny B. asked, looking stung by Rowan's accusations.

"I swear to Godric Gryffidor I don't have a clue," Annabelle said.

They all shifted uncomfortably, like they wanted to believe her, but weren't sure they could.

"I truly don't know what he's talking about! Give me Veritaserum! You'll see for yourselves," she exclaimed. "Lily, you can make some, I know you can."

"If she's willing to take Veritaserum, then I believe she's telling the truth," said Lily. "Not that I thought you were lying anyway…."

"Something just isn't right," said Alice as they continued into the Great Hall for lunch.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The boys were sitting away from the girls again, because nobody wanted Sirius and Annabelle near each other. They couldn't handle another nasty public dispute. And after Annabelle came back at him with the same accusation only a day later, it appeared things were not going to resolve themselves. James was trying to put the puzzle pieces together.

"I could have believed it if it were just the Summerby thing, but now she thinks she saw you snogging that harpy," he said.

"Maybe she made it up to punish him for dumping her flat," suggested Peter.

Sirius cringed at Peter's choice of words, but said nothing. He really had dumped her flat, as if she wouldn't have done the same.

"She didn't sound like she was lying," said Caradoc. "She sounded like she wanted to skin him alive."

James shook his head in bewilderment. "You see her. She says it wasn't her. She sees you. You say it wasn't you," he mused. "Two words. Dark Magic. Or something like it."

Sirius had been slouched over his untouched lunch, hanging his head in anguish, but suddenly perked up at James' words.

"Nah," Peter said. "Girls are cheats. You can't blame everything on magic."

"What are some spells that can make you see someone that isn't there?" asked Caradoc, ignoring Peter.

"Or plants! What about plants that if you consume the leaves they cause hallucinations?" offered Fairfax.

"Wouldn't he have known if he ate a leaf?" asked Peter.

"Not if it was ground up, like in a potion, and slipped to him somehow," replied James. "Where the hell is Remus when we need him?"

Peter shook his head and said, "You are wasting your time. She's a cheat. I'm telling you."

"Put a cork in it, would you?" James scolded him. "All girls are not cheats just because Emily decided to go out with someone else, even though she was never your girlfriend to begin with. Move on, already."

Sirius was good at Potions. No, he was excellent at them. This couldn't be that difficult to figure out. He was about to lose hope of an explanation when it started to come to him, like a little itch in his brain.

"I don't think Slughorn taught it in class yet," he said, "But I know I've heard of a potion that can change people into something else. Or someone else, I mean. Though I don't know if those dimwits would know about it."

"Slytherins are known to be cunning," said Peter. "Of course they'd know about it. Besides, they have Snivellus helping them, I'm sure."

With the mention of Snape, Sirius and James looked at each other with wide eyes, and began calling out any potion they could think of that might come close to what Sirius was thinking of. Nothing rang a bell.

"What _is_ it? A potion that can make a person look like another person…" Sirius sputtered. "J… It starts with a J… No, a P… Definitely a P…P…Pol…"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Further down the table, Johnny B. decided to sit with the girls, in an effort to help them figure out what could have possessed Rowan to think Annabelle was biting his tongue and stalking him. The answer seemed just out of reach for all of them though. If only they could remove their emotions from the situation, but the swirling cloud of betrayal and hurt lingered in all of their minds.

"Maybe he wanted to break you and Sirius apart, so he lied. Maybe he had a girl that looked like you kiss him so Sirius would see," suggested Johnny B.

It sounded possible, except that Sirius claimed it was definitely Annabelle, not just a look-alike, and it still didn't explain why Rowan would tell Annabelle to stay away from him. Wouldn't he just tell the girl he was kissing?

"Maybe he was cursed," said Alice. "Could they be skilled enough to cast the Imperius Curse?"

"He said Severus could vouch for him that he was in the Potions Lab, so that can't be it," said Lily, "Plus, they'd end up in Azkaban if they got caught. Too risky."

"I feel like cursing him right now," said Annabelle, remembering what she'd seen and how he'd spoken to her.

"Come on, Lily," said Alice. "You know Potions better than any of us. Think!"

Lily was becoming distressed as she tried to come up with the answer. She knew there was something she was overlooking, something she had learned about in her meetings with the Slug Club. Bloody hell, what was it?

"A potion that can deceive," she was thinking out loud, "A potion that can alter appearances…puh…pol…poly..."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Just over an hour earlier…_

Claire Shaw had stood there with Remus watching Annabelle and Sirius hurl insults at each other in the hallway. It was devastating to witness; two normally dignified people who had appeared to have so much respect for each other spiraling downward into a battle of who could hurt whom more. Both adamantly denied any wrongdoing, yet both claimed they witnessed the wrongdoings. They saw each other, but they didn't. If lying wasn't involved, and it didn't appear to be, then there had to be an explanation.

She had divined from her time spent with Remus and his friends that they had a grudge with some Slytherin students. She had also heard the girls mention that Elsinore Collins was deranged, which was common knowledge actually, but she had seen her attempting to speak to Sirius and he wanted no part of it. She pulled Remus aside as Annabelle fled up the stairs away from Sirius.

"Remus, do you think Elsinore Collins has something to do with this," she said. "I mean besides allegedly kissing Sirius only moments ago? Like maybe she set the whole thing up somehow?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," he replied. "This is too bizarre for it to just be one of them being dishonest. You can tell they are both being driven senseless over it."

"What kind of spell or potion could make you make you think you were seeing someone even though you weren't?"

Remus thought about it. "Hmm, there has to be something."

"A spell or potion that could make a person appear as someone else," Claire thought aloud.

They walked a few steps in silence, racking their brains. Suddenly they stopped and turned to each other, eyes wide as saucers.

"POLYJUICE POTION!" they blurted out at the same time.

"It has to be," said Remus. "It's the only explanation. But how to prove it? That is the real dilemma."

"It takes a while to wear off, depending on how much was taken, so someone is probably running around the castle as we speak who looks exactly like Sirius," Claire said. "I wish we had an invisibility cloak. We could catch him if we were invisible."

"I know where we can get one," he replied.

After retrieving James' invisibility cloak, Remus checked the Marauder's Map for the usual suspects. They were in deepest part of the dungeons in a storage room and they weren't alone. There was no time to alert the others; besides, the less people involved, the more likely they could steal into the dungeons unnoticed. He stuffed the map into his robes just in case he'd need it again, but hoped he wouldn't. He didn't think his friends would appreciate Claire, someone they barely knew, having knowledge of it.

"I have an idea of where they might be," Remus said as he reappeared with the cloak. "Past the Slytherin common room, there is flight of stairs that leads to the lowest dungeons. We'll have to take the long way around so we have to hurry. Thankfully classes are in session and then everyone will be going to lunch, so we shouldn't have a problem going undetected. You don't mind missing class?"

"Not one bit," Claire said with a grin. "This will be well worth it if we catch them."

They ventured down into the dungeons, throwing the cloak over themselves once they were out of sight. They walked slowly, scarcely breathing, listening for any sound that might indicate danger. As they approached the staircase that led to the place they were looking for, they thought they heard laughing. Following the sound, they were led down the staircase, directly to the storage room where Remus had seen their names on the Map.

They couldn't open the door without their presence being made known, but they could listen. Remus pressed his ear against it as Claire bent down, lifted the cloak from her face, and peeked through the keyhole. The guilty party was sitting in a circle on the floor.

"She's so clueless, really," Dominica snickered. "This is too easy. But it is unsettling looking at you both right now. I mean, you look exactly like them."

"Elsinore, you're a genius, aren't you?" Septima asked.

"I hate to admit it, but I think I am. Like a mad scientist of sorts," Elsinore replied. "Except, I really owe Severus for brewing the potion for me. He's the real intellect in all of this! Naïve as he is."

"When can I play Black again? I rather enjoyed that kiss," Malachi's voice drawled. "Figures Mr. High-and-Mighty's potion doesn't taste half bad, even if it is bloody painful turning into him. The little shit."

"You'll have to wait," Elsinore snapped. "I have to find that moron Rowan and lure him to where I need him to be. I hope Tabitha gets back soon or I will have to drink more of it."

"You said it tasted good," said Septima.

"That's not the problem," Elsinore sneered. "I just don't want to waste it. It took a bloody month to make."

Claire stood up and whispered to Remus, "Should I go tell Dumbledore?"

Remus whispered to Claire, "No. They might be gone before you return. We will have to charm them, because how else can we make them comply? They will just run if we call them out on it."

Footsteps were coming down the stairs and Claire and Remus, still covered with the cloak, slowly stepped away from the door as the little Slytherin girl that had tried to escort Annabelle to the Charms classroom appeared. At the door, she muttered something under her breath that must of have been a password, because they could hear the door unlock. She opened it and went inside, leaving the door slightly ajar, and Claire and Remus assumed their previous positions.

The little girl cleared her throat in order to get Elsinore's attention.

"There you are, Tabitha. What's the report?"

"If you're going to fool Black one more time, I suggest you do it soon. He's gone to class, but I can tell him a teacher wants to see him. O'Neill's hiding out in Gryffin_dork_ Tower as we speak. They had a massive row in the corridor."

"Sounds like I have some work to attend to," Elsinore trilled. "His parents will be over the moon! They already know he's not seeing the Mudblood anymore; now to just drive a final nail in the coffin of their repulsive relationship."

Claire stood up, alarmed that they had no time to plan, and looked at Remus.

"What do you think? Disarm them first, then petrify them?" he whispered.

She nodded and said, "I'll take Septima and Elsinore, you take the others. Stay high, and I'll stay low so our curses don't collide."

"I'll be back," Elsinore clucked as Claire watched her getting up from the floor. "Come along, Tabby."

"Don't call me Tabby."

Claire looked at Remus and whispered, "Now."

They dropped the cloak as Remus slammed the door open, effectively disarming them and casting Petrificus Totalus on the lot of them. Little Tabitha's wand had bounced off a wall and landed at her feet, but as she bent for it, she was hit, and immediately stiffened. Remus and Claire had been so quick, and the group of Slytherins so completely unaware of what was about to happen, that it had been simple. Tabitha and Malachi had been the only ones holding their wands, which demonstrated how unprepared they were for unwanted visitors. Claire looked at Remus proudly and laughed in relief.

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," he said, grinning at their handiwork. Claire instantly summoned their wands to her which she pocketed inside her robe.

"I think we should bring them upstairs for everyone to see," she said, a vengeful glint in her eye, relishing the fact that they could still hear her. "Dumbledore will be so pleased that they have been using magic for such ethical purposes."

"Good thinking," Remus replied. "I know several others who would love to see this as well. Let's bind Tabitha, Dominica and Malachi together as one. I'll transport them. You take the other two."

Remus uttered, "_Incarcerous" _causing cords to shoot from his wand and bind the three girls together. He did the same for Malachi and Septima. Claire grabbed the potion vials off the floor and pocketed them as well.

Finally, they maneuvered the crew of deviants out of the bathroom using Mobilicorpus. The group of three almost got stuck in doorway, but Claire grabbed one of the cords and yanked them through. It took a lot of concentration and more time than they liked to move them up through the castle since there were so many of them and they had to take a long circuitous route away from Slytherin Dungeon to avoid meeting up with any unsavory characters. But they managed not to be seen until they reached the ground floor and the Slytherins' fates were sealed.

Students who were going to lunch began to gather as soon as the creepy fivesome drifted into the grand entrance. Remus and Claire lowered them to the floor.

"I'll stay here with them," Remus said. "You go get the others."

Claire grinned and went into the Great Hall.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"POLYJUICE POTION!"

Lily and Sirius had shouted it out at the same moment, and they abruptly made eye contact, hope written all over their faces. She moved to get up to confer with him, but was stopped by Claire Shaw who had appeared behind her. Annabelle jumped when she felt her hand touch her shoulder.

"Sorry to alarm you, Annabelle," Claire said, "But I think there is something you are going to want to see in the entrance hall. Remus is out there right now. Go look!"

She then skipped over to the boys and James asked, "Where's Remus?"

She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. "He's right outside! Go look! Quickly!" Then she skittered off to the head table to alert the Headmaster and Headmistress.

They scanned each others' faces with apprehension as they got up from the table. On their way, they noticed several students by the doors pointing and laughing at something. Other students appeared to be catching wind of something as well as they tore from their seats out the door. A crowd was beginning to form. The boys caught up to the girls and Johnny B., and they pushed through the throng of laughing, jeering students jamming the doorway.


	37. Crystal Clear

As they made their way into the grand entrance, Annabelle gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth when she saw what everyone was gawking at. She looked to her friends, registering their shocked expressions and she began to shake. Sirius's eyes flashed with a mix of horror and fury. Neither could speak, they were so traumatized by the statuesque replicas of themselves positioned before them.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall made their way through the crowd and stopped in their tracks when they saw the students. Claire maneuvered around them and took her place next to Remus.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore demanded as he looked back from the clones to the real Annabelle and Sirius, then to Remus and Claire.

"We found them in the dungeons, sir," offered Remus. "They drank Polyjuice Potion in order to deceive Sirius and Annabelle. We heard them discussing it just moments ago."

"Here it is, sir," said Claire, as she pulled two vials of liquid out of her pocket, one a dusty lavender color and the other a light steel blue, and handed them to Dumbledore. She also gave him their wands."We know the whole story." Meanwhile, Rowan Summerby had made his way to the scene, a look of utter confusion written on his face.

"Whatever for?" Dumbledore asked, still taken aback by the situation that he could not believe had slipped his beneath his radar.

"I think I know the answer to that," clipped McGonagall, "But, I prefer to let them speak for themselves."

With a flick of her wand, the cords that were binding them together disappeared. With another flick, the Petrificus Totalus charm was lifted. After staggering a bit to find their footing, Dominica and Septima stepped away from Elsinore and Malachi, but it was Tabitha, the first-year Slytherin that spoke first.

"They made me do it, ma'am!" she exclaimed. "I swear it. I didn't want nothin' to do with it!"

"What did you do, exactly?" Dumbledore asked.

She pointed at Annabelle and Sirius and said, "I had to see to it that those two were where they wanted 'em so they could trick 'em!"

Annabelle felt sick to her stomach. Unbelievably, Elsinore must have been planning to trick Sirius again, since she had become Annabelle a second time. Or had it been more? Rowan had said she'd been frequenting his common room… Humiliation and rage collided within her, kicking up a tempest of emotions.

Just then, the potion began to wear off on the Sirius double. The strange, gruesome transformation back into Malachi took under a minute. He was sneering proudly, most likely in an attempt to save face in light of being caught in front of the whole school. Several other faculty members were also present, including Hagrid. He shook his head in disappointment at the scene.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore barked. "This is an outrage!"

"The other one is Elsinore, sir," Tabitha eagerly told him. "Elsinore Collins."

"Shut up, you little prat," Elsinore-as-Annabelle hissed.

"It's quite a complex potion," Professor McGonagall said. "Where did you get the ingredients, specifically the necessary hair?"

Neither of them answered.

"You will answer!" ordered McGonagall.

"From their heads!" shouted Elsinore.

Sirius suddenly remembered Elsinore yanking his hair during the duel in the staircase well over a month before. Annabelle put her hand to the spot where she had done the same to her.

"They attacked us a while back," Annabelle said. "She pulled my hair."

"And yours as well?" McGonagall asked Sirius.

He nodded slowly in affirmation. His jaw was set and his arms were crossed, and it was evident to anyone who knew him that he was fighting the urge to blast them both through the ceiling.

Now it was Elsinore's turn to transform back into herself. Once the process was complete, Annabelle and the lunatic stared right into each others' eyes. Elsinore darted her eyes away first.

"It was you?" a horrified Rowan asked her. "All along?"

Elsinore grinned smugly. He looked to Annabelle.

"_I told you it wasn't me_," she mouthed to him. She felt a jolt of vindication, even though she felt sympathetic to Rowan. Elsinore must have been working her way up to getting him to kiss her by leading him on for a while, disguised as Annabelle. It explained his sudden interest in her anyway.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Rowan replied. He turned and headed toward the boys' loo.

"Everyone connected to this incident is to report to my office _immediately_!" Dumbledore bellowed as he stormed up the grand staircase.

Professor McGonagall added shrilly, "Everyone else, _back to your tables this instant!_ Professors, please help clear the area!_"_

She ushered the students involved toward the stairs, bringing up the back in order to make sure Dominica and Septima didn't attempt to scurry off, even though they'd be stupid to because everyone could see they were in this mess up to their eyeballs.

Annabelle followed directly behind Dumbledore. She was embarrassed and infuriated that she'd been violated without knowing it. It should have been obvious that Elsinore and Malachi were the agents responsible for carrying out the "damage control" that Mary McDonald had warned her about. They were already gathering information on Sirius and reporting to his parents, but now it appeared they were also expected to break them up.

Dumbledore asked to see Remus and Claire first. Professor McGonagall waited in the hall with Annabelle, Sirius, and the scheming Slytherins. Sirius sat down against the wall several feet away from the rest of them. He, like Annabelle, was dealing with a slew of conflicting emotions, and was afraid that if he didn't put some distance between himself and the perpetrators, he would lose control. They were unarmed, which would make it even easier to hex his vengeance all over them.

He thought about how this was affecting Annabelle. She was right there, standing next to Professor McGonagall, yet she felt a million miles away. What had he done to her? How could he ever make things okay again? She wouldn't be involved in this horror show if not for her association with him, and then he publicly condemned her on top of it. He wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again.

After some time, Remus and Claire exited Dumbledore's office and he called upon Septima Scroggie. Remus went to join Sirius, while Claire, who was still shy around Remus' friends, stood a few feet away from Annabelle against the wall.

As McGonagall ushered Septima into the office, Annabelle glanced at Elsinore who glared back at Annabelle, the corners of her mouth turned up in a devilish grin. It incited Annabelle's fury so much so that Annabelle felt like reaching out and physically causing her pain. The only thing that stopped her was Professor McGonagall turning back to face them.

A few moments later, the door opened again and out rushed a crying Septima. She sent Annabelle a pleading, piteous look, maybe it was regret; Annabelle couldn't tell, but she no longer cared. Whatever her part in it, Annabelle would not forgive her and averted her eyes from the pathetic girl. Septima ran off down the hall and down the stairs.

Next was Dominica. This time Elsinore hissed and leered at Annabelle while Malachi snickered. Claire saw what they were trying to do and moved closer to Annabelle.

"Just ignore them," she whispered to her. "They can't hurt you now."

Annabelle didn't say anything. Claire was mistaken if she thought she was afraid of them hurting her. She was more afraid that she might hurt them.

Remus made his way back over and asked Annabelle, "Are you okay?"

Annabelle muttered, "No," before looking away.

Dominica didn't look quite as sorry when she exited, but she did seem cowed and uncomfortable, and she hurried off, avoiding Elsinore and Malachi completely.

McGonagall held the door open and Dumbledore called for Tabitha. Again, when she turned her back on them, Elsinore tried to instigate with Annabelle. Remus noticed as well when Elsinore made an exaggerated frown and mouthed, "_Don't cry, Mudblood_," to Annabelle.

It was the spark that lit the powder keg and Annabelle sprang at her, landing a fast hard slap across her face, which sent her staggering sideways into the wall. Professor McGonagall turned around, stepping between them as Remus and Claire pulled her back, and Sirius got up.

"Don't touch her, filth!" Malachi shouted threateningly.

"Who are you calling filth?" Sirius growled as he charged Malachi, ramming into him and sending him onto the floor. He landed one good punch across his face before Remus yanked him off him and forced him back, away from Malachi.

McGonagall drew her wand and warned, "One more outburst from any of you, and I will stop you myself!"

Elsinore squealed, "That little hag just slapped me!"

"You deserved it and so much more," Annabelle fumed. McGonagall admonished her to control herself.

When Tabitha came out, she shot an accusatory look at Elsinore and skipped off down the stairs, presumably to the dungeons. Dumbledore called for Elsinore and Malachi next.

"Why do I have to go in there? I didn't make the potion," she complained as she planted her feet like a child about to have a tantrum.

"It is not up for discussion. Go inside this instant!" McGonagall hollered. She opened the door and followed them inside, turning to Annabelle and Sirius briefly before closing the door behind her.

"You will wait here to be called," she ordered, as she joined Dumbledore in the questioning of the offenders.

Now it was just the four of them, and an awkward silence hanging in the air. The feeling of disgrace was so powerful that both Sirius and Annabelle couldn't look at each other.

Remus decided to break the ice and said, "Claire had the idea to track them down. We heard everything. It was a set-up from the start."

Annabelle glanced at him and said, "Thank you. For finding them."

"Yeah, thanks," said Sirius. "That was brave of you to take them on alone."

"Dumbledore was terribly upset," Claire said. "He isn't going to take what they did lightly."

After about twenty minutes of Claire and Remus conversing in whispers while Sirius and Annabelle brooded apart from each other in silence, the door opened and Professor McGonagall led Elsinore and Malachi out.

"Miss O'Neill and Mr. Black, he will see you now," she said, as she held the door for them. "Mr. Lupin and Miss Shaw, you don't have to stay, but you may wait here if you'd like." Sirius grabbed the door, and held it open for Annabelle, who slipped inside the headmaster's office. McGonagall then ushered the two Slytherins away.

"We'll wait for you," Remus said to his distraught friends.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk and motioned with his hand to two chairs in front of him.

"Have a seat, please. Would either of you like a lemon drop?" he asked as he lifted a small bowl of sweets from his desk.

Both students politely passed on the lemon drops.

"Alright then, let's get to the reason I wanted to speak to you," he began. "After interviewing the students involved, it was easy to conclude that you were both terribly taken advantage of and the culprits' depravity has not gone unpunished."

_No shit,_ Sirius thought to himself.

"Apparently they had some help brewing the potion, but claim the person responsible was under the impression that it was for an extra credit assignment for which the potion maker would also receive credit."

Sirius couldn't stop his eyes from rolling.

"Mr. Black, do you have something you'd like to share?" Dumbledore asked.

Sirius leveled with him. "All due respect, sir, but Severus Snape couldn't possibly be that daft."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "I have yet to speak with him, but if I find that he was aware of the use for which the potion was intended, he will be disciplined accordingly. I do want to remind you that it is not your responsibility to dole out punishments. You've come a long way in your relations with him and I'd hate to see you go backwards. Are we clear?"

Sirius could read between the lines. Stay away from Snivellus. He would never understand what Dumbledore saw in him, but he always seemed to have a weak spot for him. Sirius had the impulse to tell him that Snape had better sleep with one eye open from now on, but he bit his tongue. He knew Dumbledore could have punished him much more harshly the previous school year after almost getting Snape killed in the passage to the Shrieking Shack. He hadn't though, not just for his sake, but for Remus' sake as well. If Sirius had been disciplined, his parents would want to know why, and Remus' cover might have been blown. Maybe Dumbledore was glad Snivellus got a bit of revenge. How unfair that Annabelle had to be caught up in it.

"Crystal clear, sir," he replied.

"Good," said Dumbledore. "I also want to let you know that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Collins will no longer be attending Hogwarts, effective immediately. Rest assured, this was not their first offense, but I do have a discipline code I must adhere to, and considering the level of the infraction, expulsion is the next and final step."

Annabelle was impressed that he had cracked down on them. She was glad to know she wouldn't have to see Elsinore's fiendish countenance glaring at her again. Sirius was still subdued, despite the news.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore said as if reading his thoughts, "There is no reason for me to contact your parents, but if anything arises… at home because of this, I want to know about it."

Sirius nodded and looked toward the window.

"May I ask a question, sir," Annabelle ventured to the kindly but commanding old wizard.

"Of course you may," he replied. "You may both ask me anything you'd like."

"Did they say why they did it?"

"I can answer that," Sirius offered. "They did it because my parents recruited them to do something about the Mud…" Sirius cut himself off. He bit his lower lip and took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

"The Mudblood," Annabelle finished for him. She knew it wasn't his word; he was only giving her the reason that Elsinore and Malachi would give if they were honest. "They did it to help your parents remove me from the picture."

"Truthfully," Dumbledore replied, "They didn't say much at all in their own defense. They couldn't deny masterminding the plan and executing it. They didn't deny that they had attacked you for your hair samples. And they did confirm an animosity shared among all of them that led them to target you. They didn't say anymore though, except for Septima Scroggie, whose part was small and who genuinely seemed remorseful. She gave me the impression that she'd been bullied into it."

"By Dominica, no doubt," said Annabelle.

"Yes, indeed. Jealousy can transform us into the worst versions of ourselves."

"Will they be punished, sir?" Annabelle asked, not wanting to hear excuses for Dominica or Septima.

"They will both be suspended until the end of January," he replied. "Little Tabitha Greengrass will only be doing two weeks of detention, I'm afraid, as I believed her when she told me she was coerced by her fellow Slytherins into complying."

Annabelle and Sirius remained silent. They had all the answers they were going to get from him, and after a moment, Dumbledore spoke again.

"I estimate that Mr. Lupin and Miss Shaw's discovery cleared up a lot of confusion and doubt for the two of you, and I hope that you will be in better spirits now, considering how everything has been resolved."

Annabelle understood him to mean that now things could go back to the way they were. Sirius and Annabelle could be the happy lovebirds again, no worse for the wear. But she wasn't so sure that was how it worked. This incident had hurt them, and caused them to hurt each other. There would be scars from that. Besides, how was she expected to run back into his arms when his parents seemed ready to throttle him for breathing the same air as her? She was more confused than ever, if that was even possible, but the answers could only be found by talking to Sirius.

Dumbledore sensed their hesitation. "You mustn't let others determine where your journey together begins and ends. That is only for the two of you to decide, even if it means beginning the journey again from a new vantage point."

Annabelle nodded to show she was paying attention, and Sirius continued to gaze out the window, looking miserable.

"Alright, then, Mr. Black and Miss O'Neill," he said as he stood up, "If there are no more questions, then I must attend to some business with a Mr. Summerby and Mr. Snape. Here are some passes to present to your teachers."

"Thank you, sir," said Annabelle.

"Thank you," said Sirius.

"You're welcome," Dumbledore replied. "And if you'd like to discuss the matter again, you may knock anytime."

He came around his desk and walked them to the door, holding it open for them. Sirius allowed Annabelle to leave first. As Sirius was exiting, he glanced at Dumbledore once more who gave him an encouraging wink, then closed the door behind them.

Remus and Claire were still outside the office, most likely to make sure everything was fine between the two of them before leaving them alone together. Or maybe it was so Remus could stop Sirius in case he decided to track Snape down instead of going to class. It was hard to say, but as much as Annabelle appreciated their efforts and owed them a debt of gratitude for putting a quick end to the deceit, she couldn't talk to Sirius with them there, and no real amends could be made until they sorted it all out. Remus and Claire meant well, but there would be no discussion with them around.

On the other hand, maybe it was best that they were there. It would give them time to think; to figure out where they wanted to go from there. Nothing puts a damper on a relationship like a vicious witch and wizard working for your boyfriend's parents, running around the castle and biting people's tongues, all while disguised as you.

Annabelle parted with them at her Divination classroom, then Remus and Sirius walked Claire to her class before heading to Ancient Runes. Along with students from other houses, Annabelle shared the class with a handful of Gryffindor sixth-years, Johnny B., Lily, and Dominica to name a few. Dominica was not there. Suspension and expulsion were usually effective immediately, and one was to wait in the dorms until parents could arrive to speak to the headmaster and escort the offending student home.

Annabelle handed the professor her pass and sat at her table with Lily and Johnny B. They instantly raised their eyebrows at her in anticipation, and Annabelle shrugged in response. She'd have to wait until the teacher was done speaking to fill them in.

Once they were examining their crystal balls, Johnny B. said, "So?"

"So, Elsinore and Malachi will be bothering us no more. They are being expelled," Annabelle informed them.

"Wow. Dumbledore must have been furious," said Lily. "Can't say I'm sorry to hear it."

"Dominica and Septima are suspended until the end of January. And that little oddball Tabitha got detention because they kind of threatened her into helping them. Allegedly, Severus did brew the potion, but Dumbledore has no proof yet that he knew what it was going to be used for. Elsinore claims she told him it was for extra credit."

"Dumbledore can't possibly believe that," said Johnny B.

"Apparently he does," said Annabelle. "In fact, he issued a warning to Sirius about not going after him for revenge."

Johnny B. chuckled and said, "As if a warning will stop him."

"Hopefully it will," said Annabelle. "He doesn't need any more trouble."

"So are you two okay?" Lily asked. "With each other?"

Annabelle shook her head glumly. "We didn't really get a chance to talk. Everything is so strange now between us. Where do we even begin?"

"You are joking right?" asked Johnny B. "You run straight into his arms, Annabelle. That's where you start."

"It isn't that simple," replied Annabelle.

"You have to talk to him, Annie," said Lily. "You can't just leave things like this. Neither of you did anything wrong. You can't let them win."

"I kind of think it's better if we are apart, at least for now," said Annabelle. "His parents might go easier on him if they think it's over between us."

"Maybe you should let him decide how to deal with his parents," replied Lily.

Annabelle sighed and looked into her foggy crystal ball. She saw nothing.

"Oh, I see something in mine!" Johnny B. exclaimed. "It's you and Sirius, and you are snogging the bejeezus out of each other! See Annabelle? It's going to be alright. The crystal ball doesn't lie."

Annabelle smiled, even though Johnny B. never saw anything in his crystal ball. She appreciated what he was trying to do though.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

At dinner, everyone sat together in their usual spots. Remus recounted in detail what he and Claire had overheard, none of it surprising but galling nonetheless. Sirius and Annabelle avoided speaking to each other in depth, even though they gladly relayed the story and took questions from their friends. They weren't angry with each other; instead they were at an utter loss as to how to recover. They were still mortified by what had been done to them, still hurt and ashamed over the callousness with which they had spoken to each other, and they both just wanted to vanish for a while until all the talk of what happened died down.

Of course, just because Elsinore and Malachi had been thwarted, didn't mean multiple monstrous heads wouldn't grow back in their places. Sirius dating a non-Pureblood was clearly not allowed, and someone else would be all too eager to step in and do his parents' bidding. Knowledge of this caused Annabelle to be incensed for his sake. She didn't know what it was like to have obsessive, controlling parents. Her grandfather had been pretty relaxed when she was a child, and Dumbledore as a legal guardian stayed out of her business almost entirely, delegating to McGonagall should any issues arise. Annabelle preferred it that way, and thought that if Sirius's parents couldn't accept him the way he was, they should just leave him alone. But they couldn't let go. Until they did, Annabelle feared they'd just be faced with more obstacles, each one more spiteful than the next.

That evening, Sirius and Annabelle found it easier to retreat to their dorm rooms than talk about what happened. Annabelle was starting to think it really was over, and Sirius was trying to maintain his cool, but he was beating himself up on the inside. James found him staring out of the window next to his bed.

"Why are you up here, mate?" James asked.

"Just knackered is all," Sirius replied.

"It's not your fault you know," James said. "You did nothing wrong."

"Polyjuice Potion," Sirius muttered. "How did I not figure it out?"

"You did," James said. "Remember? In a day's time, you had the answer. And I'm betting you would have sooner, had it not been so personal."

Sirius turned and sat down on his bed, but didn't speak.

"Come on, don't tell me you are blaming yourself for all this," said James, sitting on his own bed opposite Sirius.

"Why did I think this would work with her?" Sirius asked. "Was I mental? Of course it was doomed from the start."

"It wasn't doomed. They didn't get away with it and you can repair the damage."

"How? She is alienating herself from me now," Sirius replied. "Probably figures she didn't sign up for this and is glad to be free of the Pureblood and his maniacal family."

"She knew about your family and she still chose to be with you," James countered. "She's probably just waiting for you make the first move. You did dump her, even if it wasn't your fault."

Sirius ran his hand through his hair, and hung his head. "Isn't it selfish of me to put her through this?"

"She can decide for herself how much she's willing take," James replied, then tried to get him to laugh. "She's been putting up with you since September and she hasn't run screaming yet, shockingly enough. That's a miracle right there."

Sirius gave a little half-smile.

James got up and gave him a pat on the back. "Well, you'd better find a way to sort it out with her, because we need her play Quidditch next year."

Sirius laughed and said, "That's the truth."

"Just think about what you want to say," said James, "and talk to her tomorrow. Don't wait too long, because you might miss your chance."

"You think because you got Lily back, you're a love expert now, huh, Prongs?"

"Just call me Doctor Looove," James drawled.

"Alright, bugger off, ya arse," Sirius laughed. "I really am knackered. You would be too if you had a day like mine."

"Good night, mate," James said. "Everything is going to get better. Trust me."

Sirius nodded and James went back down to the common room. By the time he returned, Sirius was fast asleep.


	38. Imperfect for Each Other

Annabelle smiled politely at Sirius as he took his seat next to her at breakfast. The awkwardness hadn't faded; in fact, it was like the elephant in the room. She wished he would just talk to her, even if it was to tell her he was over her and moving on. But he just made small talk with everyone at the table, and she did the same.

Later on, as Annabelle did her shift in the library, she found herself missing him terribly, but she reminded herself that she wasn't allowed to be selfish. His parents were vicious and quite possibly he wanted to protect himself for a change. And maybe he should. Next was Potions, where she'd have to endure the strangeness for an entire class period. She pulled the heavy library doors shut behind her and turned around to go to class.

"Boo," Sirius said.

She merely jumped as it wasn't his usual strong effort to startle her, but she didn't mind. He was there, still thinking of her.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello. I came to walk you to class."

Annabelle smiled. "They're gone, you know. You don't need to-"

"I want to," he interjected. "Besides, they have plenty of friends who were disappointed to see them go."

"It's better for you not to be seen with me," she said as they started walking.

Sirius took a few steps away from her and replied, "I'll walk over here, then."

After several feet, Annabelle grinned and said, "That looks convincing."

Sirius laughed and stepped back over to her. They walked to Potions, side-by-side, but without another word.

During Potions, they listened quietly to the lecture. Sirius thought briefly that it would be about Polyjuice Potion, which would simultaneously amuse him and embarrass the hell out of him, but it wasn't anything that complicated. Even Annabelle understood the potion, which meant one thing, the holiday was coming and the professors wanted a break.

When it came time to collect their ingredients, Severus passed Sirius on the way to the supply cabinet and from the look Sirius gave him, Annabelle thought he might attack him. James was there as well, smirking and instigating, and Annabelle realized that Severus' part in what happened had marked him and they weren't going to let it go. Thankfully, Sirius continued past him and headed back to their table.

"Ignore him," she said, and Sirius nodded. Annabelle stole a glance at Severus afterwards, and she couldn't quite read the expression he returned to her. Was it contempt? It sure looked like it. Where did he get off after what he'd done? Annabelle just shook her head at him and averted her eyes.

At lunch, the discussion turned to the Slug Club holiday party, which Lily was invited to, but had no desire to attend.

"You used to love going to Slug Club meetings," said Alice. "You haven't been to one all year."

"That's because she realizes it's a bunch of dorks sitting around with Slughorn for a giant mutual arse-licking," said James. "Can you blame her for not wanting to go?"

"I don't feel comfortable going anymore," Lily replied. "Especially not after what just happened."

Sirius and Annabelle shifted uncomfortably at the mention of it.

"I think you should go," advised Alice. "You're allowed to bring a guest, so bring James. Severus won't come near you with him there."

"That little shit," spat Peter. "I say we all go to the party and school Snivellus at the same time."

"We're not invited, first of all," said Alice. "Secondly, Dumbledore made it clear he wanted no harm to come to him. You will only get Sirius into trouble if you mess with Severus."

"She's right," said Lily. "And we can't be sure he knew anyway. Remus even said Elsinore called him naïve when he overheard her in the dungeons. Maybe she never told him what the potions were really for."

Sirius asked, "Do you honestly believe that, Lily? That he had no clue that they were planning on using them?"

"I am not sure what to believe," replied Lily. "All I know is that bothering him will only make things worse. Is it worth it?"

Sirius and James exchanged glances that subtly suggested that it was, to them.

"Well, I also think you should go to the party," said Annabelle. "Professor Slughorn has always respected your talents, and you should be proud that you are skilled enough to be in the Slug Club."

"Skill? Really?" demanded Fairfax. "No offense, Lily, because I hear you are great at Potions, but half the students in there are nitwits whose parents have connections."

"Then why isn't Sirius in it?" asked Peter. "His parents are well-connected," then turning to Sirius, said, "Not that you aren't good at potions too-"

"He asked me to join three years in a row," replied Sirius. "I just don't want to hang out with a bunch of nerdy suck-ups. No offense, Lily."

The boys all snickered, and Lily rolled her eyes and smiled good-naturedly.

"If being good at potions makes someone a nerd then I am surrounded by nerds as we speak," said Annabelle. "I feel a bit left out, actually."

"Don't worry Annabelle, you are plenty nerdy," said Peter. "Just not in potions."

"You're one to talk," said Johnny B. "You are the primary reason the Slytherins call us Gryffin_dorks_."

Everyone laughed, except Peter, who continued with his line of questioning.

"I mean, how did you even pass your Potions O.W.L. to be admitted into the class?" he asked.

"Why is it any of your business?" asked Remus.

"No, it's fine," replied Annabelle. "I crammed for two nights straight and passed, barely, with an 'Acceptable.' Slughorn said he saw potential, so he let me in the class anyway. More like twisted my arm into taking the class. He said it would be useful to improve my skills."

"I think he wanted to be able to say he taught advanced Potions to Darien O'Neill's grandkid," said Peter. "I can't believe he didn't force you to join the Slug Club."

Sirius narrowed his eyes and said, "Watch it, Peter."

"Yeah. It's like you're mad keen on embarrassing her," added Caradoc.

"What? I'm not saying it to be rude," he said. "It's just an observation."

"It's all right," said Annabelle. "I actually agree with you Peter, which is why I _turned down_ the invitation to be in the Slug Club. I'd rather be in it for the right reasons. But it doesn't matter now because my potions skills have improved this year. Sirius has been a better teacher to me than Slughorn ever was."

"Awww," said Johnny B. "Professor Black helping our Annie pass Potions. I can't take it."

Sirius grinned while Annabelle blushed hard. She kicked Johnny B. under the table.

"Ouch!" he cried out. "That was a double assault!" As usual, Alice, had kicked him as well.

"You have a day to think about it, Lily," said Alice, ignoring Johnny B. "But don't let these tossers influence your decision."

The boys pretended to be offended, but Alice just shrugged and smiled. Things were starting to feel almost normal again.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Once classes were finished for the day, there was a bit of time before dinner, so Lily, Annabelle, James, and Sirius decided to tag along with Remus and Claire to the library to get some work done. The quickest way for them to get there from their last class was through one of the open-air cloisters, and even though it was cold, they decided to take that route for some fresh air. As they were quickly shuffling along, the door opened at the other end of the passageway and Severus Snape walked through, coming in their direction.

"_Wonderful,_" Annabelle muttered under her breath, and she eyed Lily who also appeared anxious. Of all the different routes to take in the entire bloody castle, it figured they would end up in the same one as him.

James smirked slightly, but Sirius didn't. He was too angry for that, and didn't want to play games.

"Remember what Dumbledore said," warned Remus when he saw Sirius's demeanor.

James was on the outside where Severus would have to pass him, and as he did, he shouldered him hard, causing Severus to turn around and draw his wand in indignation.

"Touch me again, Potter, and you'll see what happens."

"Don't worry, Snivelly, I have no interest in touching you," replied James. "I'd be scrubbing the grease off myself for days."

"Let's keep walking," said Lily, trying to pull James away. "Please, don't do this."

James pretended to be done with him, but because he was standing so close to him, it made it easy to wrench Severus' wand from his grasp.

"Give it back, Potter," Snape demanded.

Instead of giving it back, he tossed it to Sirius who promptly winged it out one of the open arches into the snow below.

"Walk away, now," warned Remus again. "Don't lower yourselves to this nonsense."

"I hear you like making potions to hurt people," said James, ignoring Remus' sage advice and instead acting on years of loathing for the glowering young wizard before him. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," replied Snape. "I had no idea what those potions were for."

Sirius laughed scornfully, and took a few steps toward him.

"You just won't quit, will you, you spooky little shit," he said. "I know why you have it in for me, but what did she ever do to you? Nothing!"

"You think you are going to get me to admit something," Severus said. "But it won't work. I told you I had no idea-"

"You're lying!" Sirius thundered through gritted teeth as he grabbed him by the shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "You could have just punished me, but no, you had to drag an innocent girl into it!"

"Sirius, let go of him," Remus said as he tried to break them apart. "You don't want to do this."

Annabelle approached his other side and tried to get him to loosen his grip. "He didn't win, did he? They didn't win," Annabelle said. "Let him go. It's not worth it."

"James shouldn't have saved you last year. He should have let him tear you limb from limb," Sirius snarled, his face inches from Severus' face.

"You don't mean that, mate," said Remus. "You know it, and I know it. Come on, before you say or do something you'll regret."

Sirius gave Severus' collar a tight squeeze and cautioned him, "Stay away from us."

After one last slam against the wall, he reluctantly let him go and stormed off toward the library.

"I suggest you heed that warning this time," said James to Severus, as he walked backwards, staring him down.

Lily was trying to get him to turn around and said, "It's over, James, let's go."

Remus looked at Severus with a mix of pity and disdain. Claire was frightened by the encounter, so he gently took her by the arm and led her away after the others. Even he didn't believe Severus' story, but he certainly didn't want his friends to get in trouble over it.

Once they made it to the library, Annabelle could see that Sirius was shaken and agitated. He was too angry to just sit down and crack open a book.

"Come upstairs with me?" she asked. "Let's talk?"

Lily, who heard the suggestion, nodded discreetly in approval, and as the others sat down at a study table, Annabelle led Sirius to the second floor storage room. Madam Wigworthy never bothered to walk up there herself, preferring instead to send Annabelle on any upper level errands, so she knew they could talk privately there with no fear of interruptions. She closed and locked the door behind them as Sirius sat down on one of several surplus desks littering the small, cluttered room. Annabelle sat on a desk just across from his.

She looked at him for a moment as he stared off angrily, and she felt compelled to wrap her arms around him and hug the anguish out of him, but she spoke to him instead.

"You can't let him get to you," she said. "He would love nothing more than to drag you down. Don't let him."

Sirius hung his head forlornly, then he said, "Dumbledore won't punish him… because of me. Because of something I did to him last year. In fact, it's probably the reason he agreed to make the potions for them in the first place."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked. "Only if you want to, of course."

"I think I should, so you'll know how my actions most likely played a part in his involvement. I am actually surprised you don't know, since we were sure he would have told Lily all about it."

"She might not have felt it was her place to tell me," Annabelle said. "She has a tendency to be protective of him, or at least she used to."

"Well, be warned. You may think differently about me when I'm done telling you this," he said.

He paused and pushed his hair back behind his ears before dropping his hands and beginning his story.

"It was last spring, right around when James and Lily had just barely started talking to each other again. Severus was constantly hovering around, as though she needed protection from James, trying to ruin it for him. But you know all that, I'm sure….

Annabelle nodded. She remembered all too well how Severus tried to tighten his hold on Lily when he realized her interest in James wasn't going away. He had already been chumming around with some dark characters though, and Lily didn't want to be associated with people like that. People like Malachi and his crew. He might have actually convinced her that James was nothing but a cruel tosser after James had humiliated him with a spell of Severus' own creation, but when Lily came to his defense, he had tried to look tough by shooing her off and calling her a mudblood. It only served to alienate her further and convince her of his involvement in the dark arts. Annabelle had been disgusted by the lot of them; James for being a smug jackass, Sirius for laughing and encouraging it, and Severus for being a possessive git that couldn't leave well enough alone in the first place.

That prank had seemed like a fluke, though; their days of running the school seemed to be waning, as they just weren't as interested in childish games anymore, so both Lily and Annabelle had been surprised when it happened. It was also the last cruel prank any of them played on Severus that Annabelle was aware of, but clearly it wasn't the one he was referring to now.

"He had been palling around with Malfoy and Carrow," Sirius continued, "and that whole gruesome lot. They had caught us a couple times in the hall at night and we almost did real damage to each other while dueling before we'd hear Filch or someone approaching. It's almost like he missed the days of us pranking him and wanted to get us going again now that he had big scary friends to protect him. Except it was really violent, like they wanted to see how far they could go before someone was gravely injured."

Annabelle shook her head in frustration. Deep down she knew that it was no longer about boyish pranks and mischief. It was a deeper, darker magic compelling Severus and his friends to lash out at them.

"The final straw, and perhaps the worst part of it, was his obsession with Remus," Sirius went on. "He figured out that he was a werewolf, because he had nothing better to do with his life than chart the days when he was absent, in addition to spying on him, looking for signs to prove his theory, and sneaking around on full moons trying to catch him. The hateful little git just wanted to expose him, solely for the sake of ruining him. Remus, of all people, the nicest chap around, and he wanted to hurt him.

"So one full moon as we were leaving the Great Hall after dinner, I saw him sneaking out there; I knew where he was going - straight to the Willow to figure out how to get inside. Madame Pomfrey was due to escort Remus there in another few hours; he wasn't actually there yet. James and I had joked with each other that if he ever figured out how to get in, anything that happened as a result would be Karma for being so nosy and scheming to begin with. Seeing him out there though, so bloody intent on exposing Remus, well it…."

He paused as if the memory of it was too much to stomach.

"It upset you," she finished for him. It upset her, hearing about it. Why would anyone want to cause Remus suffering? Sweet, shy Remus who never fell in with the bullying. Saying Severus was misguided would be a gross understatement.

"Yes," he said. "James had run off to talk to Lily so I slipped outside and asked him what the hell he was up to. He gave me some snarky answer about minding my own business which I told him was precious since he wasn't minding his, and that snooping around would only get him hurt. He told me he knew already what Remus was, and that he'd seen him enter the tree before, which led me to question why he was out there then, if he already thought he had all the answers. He said he wanted to see for himself... Now, tell me Annabelle, what kind of simpleton wants to see a werewolf?"

"Maybe he's as naïve as people have been saying," Annabelle said, shuddering at the thought.

"He was determined to have proof so he could have him thrown out of the school. He couldn't do much to James or me, so he went after Remus instead. He even said it once, that werewolves have no business among humans, like Remus isn't human. But I let my temper get the better of me and I did something that I never should have done, had absolutely no business doing; something I regret."

"Sirius… what did you do?" Annabelle asked slowly.

"I told him how to get inside the Whomping Willow."

Annabelle's eyes widened.

"It didn't occur to me that he would actually attempt it. It was just meant as a tease, like… not something I ever anticipated he'd actually do, because as I said, who in their right mind wants to come face-to-face with a werewolf? I just wanted to see him stew over it. Which is why I walked away and forgot about it. But there is no good excuse for it… I just wasn't thinking; it was an angry impulse.

"I went back inside the castle and later on, after Remus had left, I got a bad feeling about it and told James what I'd done. He, unlike me, didn't underestimate the stupidity and desperation of Severus Snape. He said he was going to tell Dumbledore that Severus had figured out how to get inside on his own, and let him handle it from there, but apparently he changed his mind on the way and went out there himself, hoping he wasn't too late. Sure enough the idiot had gone inside and Remus had almost completely transformed by that point. He would have been toast if James hadn't dragged his bony arse out of there."

"Wow," Annabelle said. "No wonder he has it in for you."

He hung his head miserably. "Not only could he have been killed, but James could have been killed as well, and Remus would have been the murderer through no fault of his own. I could have destroyed all three of their lives, and I would have deserved Azkaban, which is where I would have ended up had James not succeeded in saving him."

"No," said Annabelle. "Granted it would have been extraordinarily awful, and you may have been expelled, but you don't go to Azkaban just for giving out the locations of werewolves. You didn't force him to go in there."

"Still," he said, "It would have been utterly tragic for all of us. If Remus had killed James, because of me and my rash decision, I would have asked for a Dementor's Kiss. I promise you that."

Annabelle didn't know what to say. She could understand why he was blaming himself, but she could also see that Severus would have been just as much to blame if tragedy had occurred since he chose to seek out Remus in his werewolf form in an attempt to destroy his life. They had both been wrong in what they did.

"And now, because of me, Severus knows that Remus is a werewolf. Dumbledore swore him to secrecy, but still. It's like I confirmed it for him."

"You didn't think he would go in there," Annabelle said. "He was barking mad. Is it your fault that he was so intrusive and vengeful that he'd risk his own life to prove a theory?"

"I should have known he'd be too curious for his own good," he replied. "I should have thought about how it could hurt Remus if Severus was daft enough to try it. But there you have it. The likely reason he agreed to help those toerags with the potions, and the reason Dumbledore most likely won't punish him for it."

Annabelle was silent for a moment as she took it all in. It had been terribly rash of him to reveal the way into the tunnel and he was right, it could have been tragic if things hadn't gone the way they did. But she knew that in his heart he had been upset for his friend, and until a couple days ago, he really had changed his behaviour toward Severus. He had been avoiding him as much as possible, but the git was still stirring the pot with him.

"What are you thinking?" Sirius asked.

"That you were brave to tell me that, and that everyone makes mistakes," she replied. "Everyone."

"Not like that," he said.

"I have."

"_Right_," he said sarcastically.

"What? You think _Dumbledore's Darling_ is above making mistakes?" she asked, teasing him.

Sirius winced at the name, and said, "I'm really sorry about that one, Annabelle. But if it's any consolation at all, it was Peter who coined the phrase, not me, even if I did use it once in a while."

"Eh," she said with a wave of her hand. "It doesn't bother me, because it isn't true. I am much closer to Professor McGonagall if the truth be told," she said with a wink, lightening the mood.

He grinned sheepishly and asked, "So, are you going to tell me this awful thing you did?"

"Might as well, even if it is royally disgraceful," she said. "But, I can't have you thinking you're the only muck-up around here. It was also last year and there was that exchange student from Beauxbatons, Marcel Baptiste; do you remember him?"

"Of course," Sirius replied. "You girls all went crazy for him. We were all glad to see him go."

"That's the one," she confirmed. "Well, he was really flirty with all of us, but he started focusing extra attention on Dominica and me. I liked him a lot, but so did she. One night, he came looking for me outside the common room, telling me he fancied me and wanted to get to know me better and all that. I didn't trust him though."

"As well you shouldn't have," Sirius replied.

Annabelle smiled and continued. "He told me he'd like to go to a broom closet with me, just like that, and when I said no, that I barely knew him, he kept trying to persuade me. He was a little too eager if you know what I mean."

Sirius wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I had serious doubts about his intentions, so I told him he'd be better off asking Dominica if _that _was all he was after, because she'd probably say yes. Secretly, I was hoping he would lose interest in her if he knew what she was like. I wanted it to be me he fancied, and not that he just wanted to… well…you know."

Sirius nodded. "You were testing him."

"Exactly!" Annabelle exclaimed nervously, wishing she hadn't decided to tell the story. "Merlin, I was so high and mighty, not even aware of how my words could affect someone else. Anyway, I went back up to my room to read for class. A while later Dominica came in looking really troubled. She told me Marcel had asked her to join him in a broom closet-"

"He certainly didn't waste any time," Sirius said.

"No, he did not. I guess I was naive too, because I was surprised by how quickly he turned to her. And of course, she went with him just as I'd predicted she would. She told me that he had been awful to her in there, saying nasty things, calling her slag, dirty whore, and other charming words of that nature."

"Did he hurt her?" Sirius asked, horrified.

"No, thank goodness," Annabelle said. "He was just attempting the whole 'dirty talk' thing, not knowing how naff he sounded, or maybe because I'd arrogantly implied that she was those things? Yet she stayed in there with him, giving him what he wanted. I asked her why she didn't tell him to get lost, why she didn't just leave, and she said she didn't know."

"That's actually quite sad," he replied thoughtfully. "But, how is it _your_ fault? She chose to go in there with him and put up with his disgusting talk, correct?"

"Yes, that's true, but what if he had assaulted her or…" she couldn't even bring herself to say the word, "something worse? Don't you see? I fed her to someone who might have been just as dangerous as a werewolf, all for my own selfish purposes. We were friends at the time, not that I should do that to my worst enemy, either."

"I guess I see your point, but you had no idea he was such a scumbag. If something worse had happened it would have been Marcel's fault. It's not like you set out to hurt her like she's been doing to you."

"And you had no idea Severus was so bloody daft, nor did you believe he would go in there."

Sirius could see she was trying to alleviate some of his guilt. It didn't work, but he appreciated the effort.

"Did you tell Dominica what you had told him?" he asked.

"No, but I probably should have, right?" she asked, eyes wide with remorse.

"Absolutely not, Annabelle. Nothing good would have come from you telling her. She just would have known what you thought of her and she'd have felt worse."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Annabelle agreed. "My shame will have to be my penance. Of course she doesn't realize it, but she got me pretty good for it with this whole Polyjuice fiasco. Anyway, at least you can take comfort in knowing you're not the only careless wanker that can't be trusted around your friends. I'm right beside you there."

"Right," he said, smiling. "I guess we are a match made in Wanker Heaven." They both started laughing when he said it.

"We're the Wanker Elite of Hogwarts," Annabelle chimed in. "We could start our own club, and throw parties for a select few with Wanker connections."

"Or our own Quidditch team," Sirius suggested. "Wankers United, and we could recruit the fearsome five to play with us. Oh wait, two of them are expelled already."

"So disappointing really," Annabelle said, still laughing. "It was a good idea though."

Sirius sighed and said, "Although, I'm still not convinced that what you did qualifies you as a total wanker."

"It was pretty bad."

"Yeah, it was," he laughed. "As bad as it was, I think I respect you more for not being perfect, and for admitting it."

"I'm far from it," she replied.

"You're not that far from it," he said, glancing at her timidly. He wanted so badly to hold her, to fix everything and never look back.

Annabelle blushed. Merlin, those eyes.

"No matter what was done before, they are the ones keeping it going now," she said, trying stick to the topic. "No one should be forced to pay for their mistakes forever. Dumbledore even acknowledged that you've been trying your best to avoid trouble with Severus. Our relationship wasn't hurting anyone… except for your parents, and you definitely don't deserve what they dish out… You know that, right?"

Sirius nodded and looked down at his hands. After an awkward silence, it was her turn to ask.

"What are you thinking?"

He shook his head dismally, and said, "I'm thinking I don't know how I can ever make this up to you. I don't blame you if want to keep your distance, though. I will understand."

"Sirius," she said gently. "I don't want to keep my distance. I'm just worried about the consequences, you know?"

"You don't want to fall victim to anymore of their scare tactics," he replied. "And I don't blame you."

"It isn't that," she replied. "It's _you_ I'm worried about. I'm scared of the consequences for _you_. What is going to happen to you in a few days when you go home?"

"Annabelle, listen to me," he said. "I knew what I was getting myself into with you. I knew exactly how my parents would react. It didn't stop me, did it?"

"Elsinore suggested you were with me just to aggravate them," she mumbled, lowering her eyes.

"Elsinore was _mistaken._ If that was the case, wouldn't I have gone out with multiple mixed-blood students and muggle-borns over the years? Why would I have waited if I just wanted to get my parents going?"

He had a point there. It wasn't like he couldn't have gotten almost anyone he wanted to go out with him. Now she felt awful for bringing it up.

"Please tell me you know me better than that, and that you don't believe it," he implored.

"I don't believe it," Annabelle replied. "It was just part of her plan to break us up, to plant seeds of doubt everywhere. I was foolish to fall for it even a little bit, and I'm so sorry for that."

"My parents are aggravated by my mere existence these days, Annabelle. They are looking for reasons to justify that, and if not you, then it would have been something else. Or they would create a reason to harass me."

She had a feeling his parents might argue with that. Mudblood friends were one thing, but he'd upped the ante with a mudblood girlfriend, even if he hadn't planned it.

"But maybe if they think we are through, they will go easier on you," she said as tears filled her eyes. "Maybe it's safer for you if we just go our separate ways for a while."

He got up then and took her hands in his.

"Please don't talk of separate ways, Annie," he said, a desperation consuming him, his own eyes brimming with tears. "I can't face them without you in my corner. I'm sorry for the awful things I said to you over the last two days and I'm sorry I doubted you for a second. I couldn't see beyond my own sadness…."

"I'm sorry too," she said as she began to cry. "I know you are nothing like Elsinore, and I know you only said those things because you were hurt. I will never doubt you again. And I'll be here for you when you return from the holiday. I promise..."

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. Sirius stepped away from her instinctively, even though they were doing nothing wrong.

"It's dinner time!" called Lily. "We'll wait for you!"

"We're on our way," Annabelle called back toward the door as she hopped down off the desk.

The knock had disturbed their outpouring, and they felt self-conscious all of a sudden. They faltered momentarily, trying to regain their composure.

"We can talk more later if you'd like," he said, heading toward the door and wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

"All right. If you'd like," she responded.

He opened the door for her and she started out, but Annabelle couldn't wait another moment. She turned around and guided him back into the room, shutting the door behind her. She turned back to face him, and for an explosive moment they just stared at each other. A few seconds later they flew into each other's arms, kissing each other's cheeks, foreheads, lips… salty tear-filled kisses of the happiest kind.

"I love you, Annie. I couldn't stop if I tried," he said between kisses.

"I never stopped loving you either," she replied. "Not for a moment."

After a couple minutes of catching up on the previous days' lost kisses, there was another loud knock at the door. This time it was James.

"After all that's happened it wouldn't be prudent to tick Dumbledore off by disappearing from dinner. The man is on a mission and heads will roll. We are waiting for you downstairs."

Sirius and Annabelle starting laughing after they thought he'd gone.

"I hear you laughing at me in there. That's not very nice you know!" James teased.

"All right, mate, we're opening the door now," Sirius said.

Annabelle stepped out first, her face tear-streaked, but grinning from ear to ear, followed by Sirius, who looked about the same.

James was puzzled as they began heading down the stairs and said, "I can't tell if you're happy or sad."

"Happy," said Annabelle. "Definitely happy."

"It's a nice change, isn't it?" Sirius remarked.

"Indeed, it is," she replied as he squeezed her hand.

Now, if Annabelle could just convince Sirius to stay at the castle for Christmas, or even to go to James' house; everything would be perfect. Even as she thought it, she knew it was fruitless, and that she'd just have to hope that nothing bad would come to pass. If only happiness was all it took to protect those that we love. But as she linked her arm through his and headed to the Great Hall with her friends, she knew that it couldn't protect him, and neither could she.

* * *

**A/N: What are you thinking? ;) Please let me know!  
**


	39. Distraction

At breakfast the next morning, Sirius received a letter from home reminding him that he was expected to be there for the holiday. It was straight forward and impersonal, and since everyone was curious, he let them see it. He'd expected something like it; his parents' way of making sure he knew they still held the reigns.

"Annabelle," said Lily, as they were walking to class, "I thought you and Sirius were fine now. What is the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter," she replied. "Things are great with Sirius. Why do you ask?"

Lily gave her a perplexed look and said, "You're behaving like you have a Quidditch match against Slytherin in a few minutes."

"Am I acting that way?" Annabelle replied. "I didn't think I was."

"Spill it, Annie," ordered Alice. "You're a terrible liar."

Annabelle shrugged meekly and frowned.

"I just don't want him to go," she said.

"Are his parents really that bad?" asked Lily. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't ask her that," said Alice. "She will be trying to come up with an answer to that question all night, making herself sick over it."

"You really should try harder to put on a happy face," Lily suggested. "You are only going to make things harder for him if you don't."

"You're right," Annabelle said. "I'm going to try harder."

Lily and Alice knew Sirius and his family didn't get along, but he'd told Annabelle the rest in confidence so she couldn't tell them about how his parents treated him at home. How his father preferred fists over wands, how his mum was given to fits of screaming rage, and how it was worse for Sirius since his parents took his beliefs as a personal affront to the family. As much as she wanted to tell them the truth, Sirius didn't bestow his trust lightly on people and she would not break that trust. But Lily was right, she needed to try harder to be strong. This wasn't about her, and he didn't need her fears and feelings on the matter burdening him.

"He'll be fine," said Alice. "He's been a part of that family his whole life. I'm sure he is used to how things are by now."

The boys had been sauntering casually behind them, talking about the holiday as well.

"My parents are making me go to Coventry for the first few days of break to visit some old great-great aunt or something like that," James complained. "Never met her in my life; never even heard of her until yesterday mornings' mail, and apparently she's not long for this world. But we should sneak out to London some night when I get back. Meet near Padfoot's place, and head over to Camden Town or somewhere."

"Sounds cracking, but count me out this time. My parents would panic if they discovered me gone," said Remus, whose parents were overly protective of him ever since he'd been bitten.

"I'll owl you and let you know," said Sirius, who didn't want to commit to any plans just yet.

"Party-poopers," kidded James. "You are welcome to join us in Coventry, Sirius. My mum told me to tell you."

"To visit some dying old aunt you don't even know?" Sirius replied. "Tell your mum I'm absolutely gutted to miss it, but my parents are very eager to see me."

"You're going to make me endure it alone?" James replied. "And I thought you were a friend."

Sirius just laughed. He knew James' mum was trying to give him an out, a way to avoid going home. Every year she invited him to spend the holiday with them, but good old Orion and Walburga Black wouldn't hear of it. Not at Christmas time. It was about keeping up the appearance of a dignified pureblood family, nothing more. There would be no warmth or joy in the Black household at Christmas, just a lot of ill will and going through the motions. What he wouldn't give to experience one Christmas like his friends did every year. Even Annabelle, who chose to stay at the castle instead of accepting multiple invites to friends' homes, said she found Christmas at Hogwarts to be pleasant and merry. He'd never known the holiday to be anything special, and in recent years it had been miserable.

The boys caught up to the girls at the classroom door, and Sirius grabbed Annabelle's hand and led her down the hall a little ways where he stopped to talk to her. He put his hands in his pockets as he casually leaned against the wall, his eyes examining her countenance for a clue as to what was going on in her head. Besides worrying about him, Annabelle was thinking that no one else but Sirius could make leaning against a wall look so seductive.

"Stop worrying that pretty head of yours, Annie," he said. "You look like you're about to play Slytherin with that face you've been pulling all morning."

"Ha. Lily said the same thing," Annabelle said, overcompensating by beaming ecstatically. "But you see? I'm grand. I'm merry and bright."

Sirius grinned and said, "You can't fool me."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You probably should work on your game face a bit. But, I think I've got something to take your mind off your troubles," he said.

He pulled the mistletoe she'd attached to his Christmas present out of his pocket, and held it up over their heads. Annabelle was surprised he'd kept it. There he was, about to face his parents in a day, and he was thinking of her. Her troubles. She decided that from that moment until Saturday, she would work on her game face so he would have one less thing to worry about.

"I told you I'd make use of this," he said, pulling her close with his other arm.

"You don't need this in order to kiss me," she said as she took it from him and tossed it over her shoulder.

He wrapped his other arm around her and lowered his lips to hers. She felt her cheeks get warm as he hugged her tightly to him and kissed her. They held back some because they were in public and didn't want to end up making a scene, but oh how they both just wanted to keep going. These little interludes were never enough and left them aching for the next brief encounter.

"We should go to class, right?" Sirius said eventually, then kissed her again. For a moment she forgot to be worried about anything, too consumed in the sheer bliss of his lips. But, class… they couldn't miss class. She pulled back to look at him.

"We should," she replied, not wanting him to let her go, but knowing if he kissed her again she wouldn't stop him, and they'd end up cutting class. She wouldn't be let off the hook for it this time.

They resigned themselves to detaching from each other. He held out his hand and she took it, and they strolled into the classroom. They made it just in time.

Professor Higgins, the History of Magic teacher, was an older wizard who droned on and on, terribly in love with the sound of his own voice. The classroom could go up in flames and he would be none the wiser; he'd still be talking. Since it was so boring, note passing seemed the natural thing to do to help pass the hour. Lily was amused to have two notes land on her desk at the same time. She could tell who they were from before she opened them. The airplane would be from James, and the bird would be from Annabelle. She opened James' note first. It read:

**_If you really want to go to the Slug Club Party tonight, I would be happy to go with you. I was just teasing yesterday. Shall we, my darling? _**

Lily wrote back:

**_It's all right. It won't be any fun for you, and I'd rather spend some time alone with you since we won't be seeing each other over the holiday._**

She charmed the note to make its way back to James, then opened Annabelle's note. It read:

**_This is so boring... I am falling asleep. Are you going to the Slug Club Party tonight? I think you should go. _**

Lily frowned, and wrote:

**_I don't think so. James said he would go with me, but I know he doesn't want to. Severus will be there... Maybe not the best decision?_**

She sent the bird flying along the floor a few seats over to Annabelle.

Annabelle was just opening a note she'd received from Sirius that read:

**_Stop passing notes and pay attention to the lecture. You are here to learn, not to muck about. It's distracting._**

She grinned and wrote back:

**_Stop watching what I'm doing and you won't be distracted. Problem solved!_**

She sent the note back to him and grabbed the one Lily had returned. After reading it she wrote:

**_I guess, but James would probably be on his best behavior with Slughorn right there. And he wants to make you happy. Let him._**

Off the bird flew along the floor, gliding straight over Remus' feet to Lily's waiting hand.

Lily was already reading James' response, which read:

**_I know you are worried about Severus and I having a go at each other. I promise you, I won't even acknowledge his existence. Let's go. I will get you alone afterwards._**

Before she replied, she read Annabelle's note, telling her to let James make her happy. She knew she couldn't keep the two boys from ever running into each other again, so she wrote back to James:

**_All right, we'll go then. It starts at seven. _**

Meanwhile, Annabelle picked up the note that had sailed back over from Sirius which read:

**_It's too difficult not to watch you. I tried. Besides, you are much better looking than Professor Higgins._**

Annabelle giggled quietly and peeked across the room to Sirius, whose elbow was on the desk with his hand supporting his head. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and grinned.

She wrote back:

**_Now who is the distraction? Is getting me in trouble the only reason you come to school?_**

A few minutes later, the note came back to Annabelle.

**_You know, as well as anyone, the answer to that. I come to school for Quidditch, of course. _**

Annabelle shook her head and responded:

**_Is that the only reason? I think I can give you a better reason than that_**.

And off it sailed to Sirius.

He grabbed it after Johnny B.'s foot tried to stomp on it as it passed. After reading it, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he replied:

**_I think I like where this conversation is going. What did you have in mind...?_**

This time he sent the note in a different direction to avoid Johnny B.'s attempts to interfere. A few moments later the note came back to him, and it read:

**_You'll have to wait and see. _**

He felt his skin tingle at her response. She was torturing him. He stole a glance at her and she was looking straight ahead at the professor, a slight smile playing at her lips. He was glad for the distraction though, as the hour of departure would soon be upon him, and not only would he be leaving her with no friends or family in the castle, but he'd be coming face-to-face with his parents with whom he hadn't shared a word since September, except for that morning's perfunctory letter. Approximately forty-eight hours until reckoning day and he wanted to spend every single one of them with Annabelle. He knew she was afraid for him, but he was trying to play it off like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him. He didn't want her Christmas ruined because of his problems.

As soon as class ended, many of the students tore out into the hall to escape the monotony. Annabelle waited for Sirius, who took her hand and kissed it, a smouldering look in his eyes.

Annabelle laughed and said, "What are you like, you cheeky thing?"

"What did I do?" he asked, the impish smile he wore betraying the innocence of the question.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said, linking her arm through his and following behind their friends.

They had an hour between classes and she and Sirius managed to slip away. He led her to one of the castle's many secret chambers and hiding-places that he had and his friends had discovered while traipsing around at night. She wondered briefly if they actually did know about her secret tower, but she didn't dare ask in case they didn't.

"How do you know about these places?" she asked him, genuinely amazed at how well he knew the castle.

They had entered an unused room in a part of the castle that wasn't occupied by classrooms or dorms. He opened what appeared to be a linen closet, the shelves entirely empty. When he pushed on the shelves, they opened like a door, and she slipped inside, Sirius right behind her as he charmed the outer door to shut from around the shelf-door.

"All castles have secret rooms like this, as well as secret passages. They were put in as a precaution to protect against invaders and the like. You just have to look for them, Annie."

"Yes, but they aren't supposed to be easy to find. You and your mates must have been very busy all these years."

Sirius laughed as he led her up a narrow staircase and around a corner into a small cramped room, the ceiling so low that he had to duck his head. There was tiny, rectangular stained-glass window in the wall emitting a trace amount of light. He locked the door behind them.

"Would have sneaked you up here sooner but I couldn't remember where it was," he said as he looked around the space, his hand resting on the ceiling. "Sorry it's so bloody cold in here."

"You must have checked your map that you had with you the night we went to Moore's," she said.

"Yes, the map. A very useful map it is, but if I tell you its secrets I'll have to kill you," he teased, pulling her to him.

"It's okay. I'll get it out of you eventually," she said, shivering a little from the draft coming in under the door.

"Cold, are you?"

She nodded.

"I'll warm you up," he replied.

He led her down to the floor, and they rested against the wall next to the window. He kissed her and she felt like she would disintegrate at his slightest touch. It didn't take long for them to lose their inhibitions, doing whatever they could to distract from the inevitable parting on Saturday. He eventually pulled her over him so that she was straddling his lap, and as she kissed his temple, he ran his hands up under her skirt and to the waistband of her tights. Annabelle gasped, and stopped his hands, her cheek still pressed to his.

It was an instinctive reaction, but she wasn't quite sure why she'd had it. Everything he had been doing felt good, and right, and part of her wanted to continue. Maybe it was just fear, a normal, healthy fear about the finality of it, the knowledge that once it was done, there was no turning back.

After a pause, Sirius gently took her face in his hands so he could see her. She looked down, embarrassed, not wanting to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Annabelle, I didn't mean to push you," he said.

"You did nothing wrong," she said, still not able to look at him.

He tipped his head so she couldn't avoid his gaze. "You did nothing wrong either. It's okay. It's a big step… for both of us."

When she didn't speak he said, "I love you, Annabelle. And I want you…To be close to you... There's no denying that. But if you're not ready, I will survive."

She smiled at him faintly. "I think I'm just scared."

"That's a good reason to stop, then. But you have nothing to fear with me. I promise."

"I believe you."

She shivered again and he said, "Let's get you sorted."

He buttoned up her shirt and helped her with her tie, then pulled her sweater over her head as she slipped her arms inside. Then she did the same for him, buttoning his shirt, tying his tie, and helping him with his sweater. After they were fully clothed again, she curled up against him as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head as he stroked her hair.

She suddenly felt sad as the distraction had come to an abrupt end and reality came swooping back down on her. Sirius was so patient and sweet with her, and she felt her heart swell with love for him. She couldn't fight the imagery taking shape in her mind of what might be waiting for him at home. She envisioned a little Sirius and his brother blending into the walls unless they stepped out of line, in which case they'd be dealt the only form of touch they had come to expect from their parents, violent force. She couldn't fathom how anyone could want to hurt him, let alone his parents, the people that were supposed to love him most of all. It was heartbreaking, and she clung to him, wishing her touch could be a talisman of sorts, providing some sort of protection against his parents' harmful ways.

Sirius was also feeling melancholy. As much as it pained him, he had expected Annabelle to stop the proceedings; in fact he was pleasantly surprised that she'd wanted to go as far as they did. He knew she loved him, and he meant it when he said he would wait. But there was nothing blocking out his unwanted thoughts now, and he couldn't fight the depression washing over him as he held her, as his trip home squirmed its way back into the forefront of his mind. The desolation could no longer be kept at bay.

His parents were not loving people. They never had been. They had kids because that was what you did in wealthy pureblood families. He and his brother were the heir and the spare, both created in a loveless moment of procreation to ensure that the money stayed in the family. They were raised by nurses as babies, who would arrive and inevitably go when they could no longer stand working for his austere, temperamental mother and his callous, prideful father. He had foolishly told Annabelle these details of his upbringing, because she had asked. She had wanted to know all about him. Her stricken face when he had told her about it, and of course when he'd told her his father had a proclivity for physical abuse at times, had made him think he should have kept it to himself. Now she was bearing his burden; he could tell by the way she hugged him, but could barely look at him.

After a while she sat up and began smoothing his ruffled hair.

"I wish I was a pureblood," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Why, Annabelle? What difference would it make?" he replied.

"Then, maybe your parents would be happy," she said.

"My parents don't know what 'happy' means. But, since we're wishing, I wish I _wasn't_ a pureblood. For a lot of reasons. I know you were dealt more than your fair share of troubles, but what I wouldn't give to have a fraction of what you had with your grandfather."

"You deserved better. You are so precious, and I can't believe they chose to ignore that," she said, then she kissed his cheek. Out of habit, she almost suggested again that he just stay at the castle, but then she remembered the letter he'd received from home telling him he was expected there. He had to go.

Her words had a way of calming him, and made him feel a bit stronger. She helped him remember that he had people who cared about him and were looking out for him, as much as he'd let them anyway, and who would help him if he needed it. James' parents were always concerned about him and even Dumbledore inquired frequently how things were with his parents. His closest friends knew how it was and all of them had offered at one point or another to go home with him, but his parents would never allow it. Still, it felt good knowing he wasn't alone.

"Let's just stay here all day," he suggested. "Or all week. No one would find us."

Annabelle smiled and replied, "Sounds like a plan, except we have McGonagall next."

"We'd better go, then," he said.

They quietly got up and made their way out of the secret chamber, checking to make sure no one was prowling about before stepping out from behind the closet door and unwillingly ambling off to Transfiguration.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Later that evening, Lily entered the common room all ready for the Slug Club party. Annabelle and Alice had done her hair and make-up, only a touch since she didn't really need it. Caradoc whistled and James blushed when he saw her. He immediately stood up and took her hand.

"Any reservations I had about going to this party are gone now," he said. "You look stunning."

Lily replied bashfully, "You don't look so bad yourself."

Just then Remus came down the stairs, dressed in a nice shirt and tie, his hair looking tame and dapper. Johnny B. came down behind him, grinning proudly at his handiwork. Claire was in the Slug Club and had asked Remus to join her for the party.

"Whoa, Claire is going be throwing her knickers at you!" joked Fairfax, causing Remus to turn as red as a tomato. All the boys burst out laughing, except for Johnny B. who never went in for the vulgar humour.

"Shut up, Hood," Remus sniped. "She's not like your girlfriends."

"Ooooh, fair enough," Fairfax laughed amicably. "I'm only teasing, you know. All I meant was you look very put together."

Remus rolled his eyes, but said no more. He waited by the door for James and Lily.

"Alright, mates, last chance to get a glimpse of the Nerd Club party, I mean Slug Club party. Who wants to sneak a peek?" James announced as Lily playfully swatted his arm.

Sirius and Annabelle were going to the library, which was open later the week before the holidays so students could finish up their final assignments and projects. They had a lot to catch up on, but they agreed to walk with them to the party.

"Maybe we can get a glimpse of what we've been missing all these years," Sirius muttered to her.

"You planning on joining?" Annabelle asked, teasing him.

"Um, let me think about it. NO."

First they stopped off at Ravenclaw common room, where Remus knocked on the door with the bronze, eagle-shaped door knocker.

"_I can be cracked, I can be made. I can be told, I can be played_," the eagle said.

They all looked at each other like it was the lamest riddle ever.

"I thought these riddles were supposed to be difficult," said James.

"Answer it, Remus," Sirius said.

"We can't just go in there," he replied.

"I'll answer it then," Sirius said. "A joke!"

The door opened. James and Sirius, who had their trademark devilish glint in their eyes, started calling out for Claire rather loudly.

"Claire! Time to party!" James shouted. "Hurry up!"

"You don't want to miss a second of this party, Claire. Put your dancing shoes on!" called Sirius.

Again, Remus was mortified and pushed them back from the door. He was just about to close it when Claire appeared, simultaneously laughing and blushing. Some of her friends peeked around the corner, also grinning shyly, like they had to see the boys making all the fuss.

"Aww, she looks so pretty," Annabelle said to Lily as Claire took Remus' arm.

"She does," Lily agreed. "They are so cute together."

"Sorry about that," Remus whispered to Claire.

"It's all right," she replied, then turned to Annabelle and Sirius, and said, "I didn't know you were coming as well."

"We're not," Sirius said. "We're going to have a grand old time in the library catching up on school work."

"Oh, that's too bad," she said.

Annabelle knew Sirius and James were itching to make a joke in response so she quickly spoke in order to deter them from embarrassing Remus anymore.

"Better get going, or else you will be rather late," she trilled.

When they arrived at Slughorn's office, the door was open and the party had begun. Remus and Claire went in first and made their way across the room, probably because Remus wanted to be far away from James and Sirius in case they pulled some stunt in front of Claire.

"All right, mate," said Sirius as he straightened James' tie, then patted his shoulder. "Put on a brave face. You can do this."

James, who was pretending to be very solemn, replied, "If I don't return to the dorm by nine, send help."

Lily took his hand and said, "Come on, James. It's going to be fine."

As they entered the office, Slughorn rushed over to greet Lily, and James looked back to the door at Annabelle and Sirius who were peeking in at the party. Sirius laughed at James and pointed at him. James started laughing too, but shot him the two-finger salute anyway.

"Let's go," said Annabelle, not wanting Slughorn to see them there lest he try to invite them in. "We have a lot of work to do."

As they were leaving, Severus Snape was just arriving at the party. Annabelle tightened her grip on Sirius' hand and held her breath as the boys exchanged glares, but neither said or did anything. Sirius looked to Annabelle after he'd passed and she gave him a reassuring smile to commend him on letting him by without a single remark or threat.

After two hours in the library of straight school work, they had finally caught up and were exhausted. They walked slowly back to Gryffindor tower, stopping at an open window on the landing of the staircase they were on. They looked out over the snowy grounds as the frigid air hit them, then up at the stars that were shining brightly in the clear sky.

"Which one is Sirius?" she asked him.

"Do you see Orion?"

"Yes," she replied.

"The three stars of Orion's belt point downward toward Sirius to the left," he explained.

"I see it. The brightest star in the night sky," she said. "Fitting name for you, really."

"I'd much prefer a common name like Henry or Mike," he replied with a laugh.

"But that would be boring," she said. "And you are a great many things, but boring is not one of them."

Sirius was quiet, deep in thought as he rested his arms on the windowsill. Annabelle put her arm around him, but said nothing. There wasn't anything she could say to make him feel better about the current situation.

After a time, he wrapped his arm around her and said, "Why don't you just go home with Lily? I hate to think of you at school over a holiday."

"I've told you, it's not that bad. There are always a handful of other students, and Dumbledore makes a big deal out of it. Sometimes McGonagall and Hagrid take the older students to London for a day, which is always fun."

Sirius frowned and gave her a squeeze. "Don't you get lonely all day long?"

"I suppose it can get a little dull," she said. "But they give us stuff to do. McGonagall gives us free apparition and transfiguration lessons where we learn the fun stuff, and we don't have to be anywhere on time so I can sleep as long as I like. Besides, it's better than putting up with Lily's sister, that's for sure."

"She's not very nice, is she?"

"Not at all. In fact, I did go home with Lily for Christmas during first year. Her parents are lovely; so welcoming. Her mum told me to call her mum. But that wretched Petunia has such resentment for Lily and anyone with magical abilities. She was not thrilled I was staying there, let's put it that way."

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"She cornered me in Lily's room while Lily was in the shower. Told me Christmas was for families and asked me if I didn't have any other freak friends that would take me in for the holiday."

"How rotten," he said, the disgust evident in his voice.

"Fortunately, all muggles aren't like her," said Annabelle. "Needless to say, I felt awful, and I wanted to go back to the castle and let her have her Christmas without me ruining it for her."

"Did you tell Lily what she said?"

"No," Annabelle replied. "They already have a strained relationship. I didn't want to make it worse. Lily sensed something was wrong though, and her parents made extra sure I came back for Easter and part of the summer, but I always feel awkward about Christmas, since Petunia clearly thinks it's just for family."

"Or for people of the non-magical variety," Sirius said. "I can understand you not wanting to be around her."

"It's not a big deal. I've had invites from others, but I just feel like I'm intruding," said Annabelle. "I don't mind being here, so it's all right, really."

Sirius sighed and shivered a little. Annabelle reached out and pulled the window shut.

"Let's get back," she said. "Can't have you getting sick now. And I want to hear about the party."

Just as they were turning to go, they heard giggling coming from down the shadowy corridor. They looked and saw Remus and Claire, holding hands and walking in their direction. They hadn't noticed Sirius and Annabelle standing on the landing by the window yet.

"That isn't the way from Slughorn's office," Annabelle said suspiciously.

Sirius' sad countenance turned to a look of pure mischievous delight almost instantly. Annabelle saw his expression and whispered, "Sirius… do _not_ embarrass them."

Remus and Claire still hadn't noticed them standing there when they stopped in the middle of corridor and kissed each other.

Sirius and Annabelle's eyes widened before they looked away, and they started laughing silently. It wasn't even funny really; it was just so utterly unexpected, in addition to the fact that Remus and Claire would die of embarrassment if they knew his mates were seeing their intimate moment.

"We should make a run for it," said Sirius. "Oh shite, they're coming."

Sirius turned back toward the window, flinging it open and throwing his arm back around Annabelle as they looked outside in an attempt to convince them that they hadn't seen a thing. Sure enough, Claire and Remus saw them, and hesitated momentarily before approaching.

"Oh, what a beautiful winter sky, ay Annie?" Sirius said, pretending to be unaware of their presence.

"Indeed it is. Quite twinkly and starry," she replied.

Remus stood there looking at them like he could see right through them, and he cleared his throat in irritation. Sirius turned around feigning surprise.

"Remus! Claire! Fancy meeting you here," he exclaimed, unable to conceal his mirth. "How was the party?"

Annabelle would never have felt the desire to laugh, but she couldn't help it with Sirius around. Everything had potential to be funny with him, and she still had to fight laughing, especially since she could tell Remus knew they'd seen him kissing Claire.

"It was a little dull, actually," Claire said. "We slipped out early and went for a walk instead."

At least she was honest. Remus was shooting Sirius a look of warning, which only made Sirius want to laugh harder.

"Want to come to the common room with us, Claire? No one will tell on you," Annabelle offered.

She looked at Remus who nodded in approval, and Annabelle took her by the arm and led her off ahead of the boys to escape the awkwardness.

"Go ahead, say it," Remus said to Sirius. "Whatever joke you are going to make, just spit it out."

"What could I possibly have to say," replied Sirius. "I was looking out a window."

Remus gave him a skeptical look, and said, "You've lost your touch, Padfoot, because you're not fooling me."

"Really," joked Sirius. "I was looking at the stars. I couldn't possibly have seen you and Claire snogging in the hallway."

Remus sighed and smiled. "There it is," he said, shaking his head.

"Sorry mate, we didn't mean to see it," said Sirius. "And I'm only taking the piss because you are so easy to get going. Claire is a really lovely person, and I hope you continue to snog her in the hallway."

"Thanks, I think," Remus said, as they followed the girls into the common room.

"Anyway, now we're even," said Sirius, who was remembering that Remus was the only one who'd seen him kissing Annabelle at Moore's Pub.

After talking for a while and watching James give a hilarious reenactment of events at the Slug Club party, Remus walked Claire back to her common room and eventually they all retreated to their dorm rooms. There was one more day between them and Saturday, and many of the students were excited and packing, while Annabelle had no choice but watch and worry.


	40. Bah, Humbug

**A/N: Just a reminder that I made Regulus the older bro (see chap 21 if you haven't already) because I don't personally get the big bro vibe from Sirius. Their relationship was pretty insignificant in the books so I am going with it the way I see it, and you can suspend your disbelief and join me if you'd like since at the end of the day, it's all pretend anyway. :)  
**

* * *

As much as they wished Friday could have lasted forever, it didn't. In fact, time seemed to sense their desire for it to stop, and sped up just to spite them. Sirius and Annabelle clung to each other all day like a pair of wet blankets. He even went to the library with her to help her out on her shift, in order to avoid being alone with his thoughts. Annabelle was still trying to be strong for him, making sure that when he'd look at her she'd be smiling, but it was getting so hard to fake it.

Later that evening, they withdrew from the common room to sit on the stairs for a bit, alone. She leaned against him, her arm slipped through his as he held her hand in both of his. They sat like that in silence for a few moments, neither knowing what to say. He hated that she knew he was anxious, but he couldn't hide it from her. Not when they spent so much time together.

"Well, I hope you have a happy Christmas, Annabelle. I will be thinking of you every minute."

She felt her lower lip start to tremble despite her attempts to remain calm. She inhaled deeply, tried to steady her voice, and said, "Send an owl when you get there, so I know you arrived."

"I will," he said. "Do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Ask Dumbledore to keep the gates unlocked tomorrow night. Just in case."

Annabelle didn't like the sound of that request. She was comforted by his addition of 'just in case', since it made her think it was unlikely he would need to turn around and come right back. Not that she didn't want him there, but something pretty bad would have to happen for him to leave his house when he'd barely arrived and she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I will," she responded.

"Don't have too much fun here without us, all right?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"All right," she replied glumly. He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"Cheer up, Annabelle," he said. "I am going to be just fine. If things get bad, I know where the door is, remember that."

"Just make sure you leave before it's too late... if it comes to that," she said, sitting up straight and looking him in the eyes. "You have nothing to prove."

He looked back at her and nodded. Then he rested his forehead against hers and kissed her.

A moment later Caradoc and Johnny B. came up the stairs. Caradoc chirped, "Get a bloody broom closet!"

Johnny B. smacked him in the arm and cautioned him, but Caradoc's comment made Sirius and Annabelle laugh for the first time all day.

"You two are making me sad today," Johnny B. said as they reached the landing in front of the portrait hole. Even laughter couldn't hide the concern drawn all over their faces. "Parting is such sweet sorrow… blah blah blah," he said, trying to remember a line from _Romeo and Juliet_.

If only it was the parting that was causing the sorrow. If only.

"Don't stay out here all night," he said.

"We won't," Sirius replied.

Again, there was a melancholy silence, which Annabelle broke.

"Bring some pictures back with you from when you were little, all right?" she asked. "I want to see tiny Sirius all dressed up like a proper wizard."

Sirius replied, "Must I? I was hoping I could burn all of the pictures from my childhood."

"Don't you dare," she said. "You don't have to look at them. Please?"

Sirius smiled and said, "I'll see what I can do."

Eventually they did return to the common room, and were able to laugh at the antics of their friends. Sirius and Annabelle stayed in the common room chatting with Lily and James until very late, not wanting to leave because leaving meant sleep, and sleep meant waking up to Saturday. But Professor McGonagall had decided to make the rounds, peeking into the common room and quietly telling them all to go to bed.

They said their goodnights quickly so as not to prolong the agony, and went to their dorms. As soon as she was in bed, she missed him. Her mind raced for hours as she came up with every possible issue that could arise with his parents, just as Alice predicted she would. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but morning had come far too quickly.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

At breakfast, the Great Hall was abuzz with excitement. Caradoc was making a rude joke that somehow involved Peter and the breakfast sausages in front of them, and Alice was scolding him as the others laughed. Sirius and Annabelle tried to smile and laugh as usual, but it didn't help. Annabelle could barely swallow her tea as she looked around at everyone but Sirius, afraid to make eye contact with him lest she start bawling right there. Sirius also barely touched his food. He had a pain in his stomach and fleetingly wondered if this was what Annabelle had been enduring before every Quidditch match. He tried to concentrate on what the others were talking about, but his mind was fuzzy and he couldn't focus.

Annabelle felt a foot nudge hers under the table and glanced at Johnny B. who was looking back at her, a sorrowful expression in his icy blue eyes. He mouthed the words, _Are you okay?_

Annabelle swallowed hard and breathed deeply as she nodded. She tried to smile, but it only made the persistent lump in her throat grow bigger. Sirius put his hand on her back and said, "I'm going upstairs. Care to join me?"

She nodded again, and put her napkin on the table.

"I'm going to finish packing," he said to everyone. Annabelle didn't speak as he put his arm around her and led her out of the Great Hall.

Not that anyone fell for it anyway, but Sirius had only used that as an excuse since he wasn't bringing a lot home with him. He had a distinct feeling he wouldn't be needing much. He just wanted to put Annabelle's mind at ease before he left.

They sat on the sofa, arms around each other, not saying anything for a while. Finally, the tension became too much for Annabelle and she blurted out, "Please, don't go. You don't have to. There is no reason for it."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "It's not that simple. You don't understand them, Annie. If I don't show up, all hell will break loose."

"They can't hurt you here," she said. "Dumbledore won't let them! Please, let's just tell him."

"Can you imagine the trouble that would be for Dumbledore? My parents have very close connections to ministry officials. They would love nothing more than an excuse to make trouble for him if he got in their way."

"You said you were old enough to leave, though. Why not just do it now? Just don't go back."

"I have to be careful about it," he said, not sure if he should say anymore. "Whatever happens, my parents have to think it is their own doing, their own choice. Or else I will never be free of them."

Annabelle furrowed her brow as she pondered over what he'd said. "What are you planning?"

"Don't ask me any more questions, Annabelle," he replied. "I know what I'm doing. Please, just trust me. And don't send any owls, whatever you do."

"I don't want you to get hurt anymore," she said, trying like crazy not to start crying. She would kick herself all week if that was how she sent him off, a blubbering mess just adding to his strain.

"Annie," he said, looking her in the eyes and smiling, "I will be fine. Nothing they do can hurt me anymore. If fact, I think I made it sound worse than it is. It's nothing I can't handle." He was lying now, in fact, he'd sugar-coated a lot of what he'd already told her. "But if I don't kiss you now," he continued, "I will miss my chance when the others return from breakfast."

He took her face as Annabelle said, "But Sirius-"

"Shhh," he whispered as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.

It was no ordinary kiss. His lips consumed hers desperately in an attempt to fortify himself with her affection so that later, he could draw from it when there was only darkness to be found. She kissed him back with the same fervor, wanting to give him a way to remember how she felt about him when surrounded by people that had no capacity for love, only cruelty. It was all too much, and Annabelle stopped abruptly and hugged him so he wouldn't see the silent tears spilling down her cheeks. He held her tightly, burying his face in her neck.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered, as she quickly wiped her face on her sleeve.

"There, there, Annie. It's not forever. I will be back before you know it," he said, trying to ease her mind.

She let go of him, but kept her eyes down. He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear then took her hand and squeezed it.

"Right, and you will be fine," she said finally, trying to remain optimistic for his sake. She chuckled a little and said, "If you'd have told me at the beginning of the year that I'd be sitting here whinging over Sirius Black I would have laughed out loud."

Sirius smiled and replied, "I would have laughed out loud as well. You _hated _me."

"Hate is a bit strong," she said with a grin, "but you weren't exactly fond of me either."

"I think I did like you deep down, actually," he responded. "Which is why it bothered me so much that you found me reprehensible."

"If I'd known that little tidbit of information I mightn't have found you quite so reprehensible," she replied. "If you recall, I thought you despised me as well."

"That's impossible. I didn't. I couldn't have," he said, grinning as he leaned in to kiss her again.

It was short-lived though, because a moment later, students began to trickle into the common room to get ready to leave.

"All packed?" Lily asked Sirius with a knowing gleam in her eye as she sat down next to them on the sofa.

"Why yes I am. You?" he replied with a straight face.

Lily smiled as James parked himself next to her. "Yep, I'm ready to go. Can't say I'm happy about leaving Annie behind though," she said, frowning at Annabelle.

"Can't say I am either," Sirius agreed.

"Annabelle will be fine," said Annabelle. "Please, don't worry about me. Christmas at Hogwarts is just one smashing good time after the next and it's a pity you all can't bear witness to the extravaganza."

James and Sirius snickered at her sarcasm.

"It's better than visiting some old aunt you don't even know in Coventry," said James.

"Or dealing with my sister and her new boyfriend," said Lily. She stuck her finger down her throat for effect.

Sirius would have chimed in, but there was no way to make light of his situation. What could he say really? _It's better than spending the week in the deepest level of hell?_

"I take it you don't like him very much," Sirius joked instead.

"You could say that," she replied.

"At least she will be too preoccupied with _Vernon_ to spy on you," James said to her. "Maybe you could manage to get away for a while. We could all meet in London."

"We'll see," she replied. "Annabelle, owl me if McGonagall takes you to London next week. Maybe I could convince my parents to let me join you. We could all spend the day together."

"All right," Annabelle said. "That would be fun."

Eventually, Remus, Alice, and Johnny B. made their way over, followed shortly by Peter, Caradoc, and Fairfax. They had their coats and bags with them and they were just waiting to head down stairs where they'd be escorted by Hagrid to Hogsmeade Station. Annabelle usually went with Lily and Alice to see them off just for something to do, but she didn't want to go this time. She didn't want to chance it lest she start crying like a baby on the platform in front of everyone.

When it was about time to leave, students started filing out of the common room and Sirius went upstairs to get his stuff. He had only packed a rucksack, which clearly could not fit enough to last him the entire break.

"That's all you're taking?" Annabelle asked when he came back down.

"Eh, I have a few items at home, so this should do."

It still struck her as odd, but he'd told her not to ask any more questions, so she stood up with the others to say good-bye.

She hugged each of them, and of course when she got to Johnny B. she choked up with tears. Something about his hugs had that effect on her.

"Happy Christmas, Annie," he said. "Love you."

"Love you, too," she said back to him.

"Come on, before we miss the bloody train!" ordered Peter. "You're acting like you're never going to see each other again."

"Where's your Christmas spirit, Peter?" asked Caradoc.

"Bah, humbug," he replied.

Annabelle walked to the door with them, and watched them go. Sirius waited for the room to be empty and when it finally was, he pulled her to him and hugged her close. This was the moment she had been dreading, and she was shaking with nerves as she squeezed him back.

"Don't forget to owl me when you get there," she said, still holding him tight.

"I won't forget," he responded, struggling to remain composed. If he broke down now, it would be that much harder for her to watch him go.

"I love you," she said. "Remember that."

"I love you too, Annabelle," he replied hoarsely. "So much."

When they finally looked at each other, they could see the shine of tears in each other's eyes.

He kissed her hard on the lips, ran his hands over her cheeks, then turned away and went through the portrait hole without another word.

When he was gone, Annabelle put her hands over her face and wept.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sirius stepped off the train into King's Cross station with his friends, passed through the wall with ease, and walked with James and Lily to greet the Potters, who were chatting with Lily's parents. After some small talk and one more attempt on Mrs. Potter's part to convince Sirius to come home with them, they went their separate ways.

No one was there to meet him, as usual, and he decided to take the underground to pass the time. Apparition was out of the question since he wasn't seventeen yet nor had he taken the required test to apparate legally. Not that the legality of it would have stopped him, but there were too many people about who would see him disappear. Besides, he wasn't in a hurry.

Instead of heading straight to Islington, which was only one stop away, he took the Circle line, doing a round of the city center before changing lines and heading home. He had always liked taking the tube around London, mingling with the muggles and seeing how they lived. His parents found his penchant for the underground revolting; they preferred to take taxis when they were forced to travel by muggle means.

He knew he couldn't avoid it forever though, so he resigned himself to going home. He switched over to the Victoria line and while he was waiting for the train he noticed an ad on the wall for The Bay City Rollers, a naff muggle boyband that Annabelle and Lily were keen on. It reminded him that Annabelle would be waiting for an owl from him, probably pulling her hair out by now. Once he arrived at his stop, he made his way out of the station into the bright sunshine, turning right on Upper Street past The Famous Cock pub, whose name always made his brother Regulus laugh hysterically when they'd pass it. It was cold outside despite the sun, and he was glad he had his scarf to wrap around his face. He stopped at a news agent and bought a muggle paper with some galleons he and James had transfigured into quids, and immediately noticed a headline about some violent murders in Romania. He pulled out the Daily Prophet that he'd picked up in Hogsmeade from his rucksack- its main story about the dark wizard they'd been hearing about possibly being connected to a series of murders in Eastern Europe. Sirius shook his head, hoping the Aurors would get him before he could he hurt anyone else.

He shoved both papers into his bag and continued around a corner, where there was an overgrown, gated park in the center of a square. He took a deep breath and walked to his house, willing it to appear between houses eleven and thirteen. He trudged up the steps and gingerly knocked with the serpent shaped door knocker, his heart beating a little faster. He could have used his wand to get inside, but his parents told him to knock and wait to be let in, as though he was a guest in his own home. He was used to it though, and waited patiently to be let inside.

He was about to knock again when the door creaked open. Sirius looked down to see the family's stroppy house-elf, Kreacher.

"Why, hello there old friend," Sirius said. "Happy to see me, aren't ya?"

Kreacher grimaced at his young master, and replied, "Mistress says for Kreacher to take Master Sirius' luggage."

Sirius gave an exasperated laugh and pushed past him into the dim hallway.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Kreach, but I just have this one bag and I think I can manage it myself, thank you very much."

Sirius tossed his rucksack into a closet by the door, and hung up his coat, despite the elf standing there ready to do it for him.

"Where is everybody?" he asked Kreacher.

"The Master and Mistress told Kreacher to tell Master Sirius they are in Diagon Alley. Mistress says for Master Sirius to be ready for a visit from Master Cygnus Black and family at four o'clock."

Sirius had no desire to suffer a visit with his mother's brother. He really hoped none of his cousins would be joining him, except for Andy who definitely wouldn't be making an appearance since she'd been disowned for marrying a muggle-born wizard. Bella was married to some barmy idiot and Narcissa was about to be married to Lucius Malfoy, a typical pureblood snob if there ever was one. Hopefully it would be a 'hi and goodbye' with the uncle and he could hide in his room until dinner.

As he was about to head up the stairs, he heard footsteps coming down and his brother Regulus appeared on the landing above. He looked like a slightly older version of Sirius with the dark hair and gray eyes, the pale skin and chiseled features, and an air of nobility about him that set him apart somehow. The only other commonality they shared was their love of Quidditch, but Regulus' interest in the sport had waned considerably since graduating from Hogwarts several years prior.

Personality-wise, they were as different as night and day. Regulus was his parents' golden boy, still living at home until his wedding the following summer to a pureblood third cousin that had been arranged years before. Regulus had always been a kiss-up to their parents; whether it was to avoid getting beaten or because he actually subscribed to his parents' ideology, Sirius couldn't be entirely sure, but figured it was a little of both.

"You're late," Regulus sneered. "Mother and Father won't be pleased when they find out."

"Why do they have to find out?" Sirius asked. "Are you going to tattle on me?"

"No, but Kreacher will."

Sirius looked at the elf who glared malevolently back at him.

"You'd better not say a word, Kreacher. That's an order," Sirius said, knowing that the only orders Kreacher followed were those issued by his parents and Regulus.

"Tell him, Reg," he said.

Regulus rolled his eyes and sighed languidly. Then he looked down at the elf and said, "Kreacher, please don't mention the time of Master Sirius' arrival to Master and Mistress Black. Are we understood?"

"Yes, Master Regulus," Kreacher replied warmly.

"Very good," Regulus drawled. "Now you may get back to your duties. Thank you."

Sirius started up the stairs, eyeing the very trendy muggle clothing Regulus was sporting.

"Nice bell-bottoms you're wearing," Sirius quipped. "Heading out to a disco later?"

Regulus smirked and said, "Shut up, Sirius."

"What? You're looking ace. Just don't let Father catch you wearing that," he said as he passed him and continued up the stairs.

Regulus flinched a little at the thought, then turned on his platformed heels and followed Sirius.

"You'd better watch out for Father yourself," Regulus said. "He's none too pleased with reports he's been receiving of you gallivanting around Hogwarts with a half-blood; a descendant of that bleeding heart, muggle-lover Darien O'Neill no less."

There it was, Sirius thought. The first mention of what was sure to be an endless topic of conversation later. He turned into the drawing room where he took out some stationary.

"At least she's not a blood relative, unlike your lady love," Sirius replied with a snicker. "And what do you have against muggles, really? What have they ever done to you?"

Regulus ignored his brother's remarks, and strolled casually toward him, looking up at the ceiling and scratching his chin as though recalling information.

"Your half blood, granddaughter of Darien O'Neill," he said slowly, "who was married to another half-blood, Margaret Donovan. They had a daughter, Colleen, a squib – no surprise there with all the watering down of the blood. She was your half-blood's mother, and her father a muggle named Patrick Kelly, just another working class muggle slob. A wanton lot, corrupt to the core."

Sirius' eyes narrowed as a chill went up his spine at the ease in which they'd dug up Annabelle's family history.

"Corrupt? He was an activist for justice in the world. He was opposite of corrupt," Sirius responded angrily. "And how do you know so much about her family? Father's been using his ministry connections for the most ethical of endeavors again, I presume? Talk about corrupt."

"She's not even English for crying out loud," Regulus replied condescendingly.

Sirius bent to write his letter to Annabelle as he spoke.

"She was raised in London, educated in London, and treated like a princess by her grandfather," Sirius replied. "He was more powerful and influential than anyone in this family, I'll tell you that. And since when is being Irish a crime? There are Irish purebloods too, as I'm sure you well know."

"She's not one of them," Regulus said. "And I can already tell you what Father will say. The honor of this family transcends power."

"Whatever that means," Sirius quipped.

"All right," Regulus replied haughtily, as he turned toward the door. "Keep up that attitude and you know what will happen. Don't look to me to defend you though."

"Why would I ever do that?" Sirius retorted in a jaded tone.

He went to the window where an owl was perched and waiting in a cage. He brought it out and sent it off out the window to Hogwarts with the letter to Annabelle, then followed his brother out of the room and to the top floor where both retreated to their bedrooms, slamming their doors behind them, without so much as another word to each other.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Annabelle had been in the Great Hall watching a silly play a couple of Gryffindor first-years had made up on the spot. Twyla and Zelda were their names and they had been following Annabelle around all day like puppies. At least they were taking her mind off of Sirius, who hadn't sent a letter saying he'd arrived when he should have arrived hours ago.

The girls finished their little skit, and Annabelle clapped enthusiastically. They smiled proudly and sat down at the table with her for a lovely Christmas tea Izzy had provided for them. Annabelle was beginning to consider telling Dumbledore all of her fears when an owl came swooping down over the table and dropped a letter in front of her, then it soared around and winged its way out as quickly as it had come.

She exhaled in relief as she opened the letter which looked like it had been written in a hurry:

**_Dear Annie,_**

**_I made it safe and sound. All is well, so no worrying, my love. _**

**_Miss you already._**

**_x Sirius_**

It was short and to the point, which she presumed was because he'd be busy with his family, or there just wasn't anything to report. The 'all is well' part struck her as a bit insincere, but it didn't matter, because there was not a thing she could do about it.

"Is that from your _boyfriend,_" Zelda asked with a cheeky grin.

"Yes, it is," replied Annabelle.

"Can we see it?" she asked.

"Sure, why not," Annabelle said and tossed the letter to the nosy girls.

They leaned over it, smiling from ear to ear like they were reading someone's diary. Annabelle chuckled a little and shook her head. She could imagine that she and Lily would have reacted the same way if they'd ever been allowed to read a note from Connor Fawley or Gavin Travers to their girlfriends at that age.

The girls started giggling and with exaggerated voices said, "_My love_."

Annabelle rolled her eyes but laughed too.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked the pair.

"Nothing," Twyla said, still giggling.

"Your boyfriend's hot," Zelda blurted out.

"I know," Annabelle said, and they all giggled.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sirius was supposed to be getting ready to meet his uncle and his family in about a half hour, which meant he was expected to dress accordingly. He opened his closet and pulled out the high-necked, Victorian era dress shirt, vest, and black trousers that all respectable pureblood wizards wore when entertaining, and tried it on. The shirt and vest proved to be at least a size too small, and the pants were high-waters, as he'd had a growth spurt since last Christmas.

"Shite," he muttered, a ripple of panic washing over him. He thought briefly of asking Regulus if he could borrow some dress attire from him, but thought it might be easier to just nick a set when he left his room. He tried on his dress robe and it fit just barely. Part of him was tempted to just greet his uncle in his street clothes, or better yet, in Regulus' flashy bell-bottoms and pointy-collared shirt. James would laugh at the idea, but Sirius would never dare. It was a funny thought, though.

He sat by the door hoping Regulus would come out of hiding before his parents got home, if they weren't home already. He didn't expect them to run up the stairs with open arms or anything, so for all he knew they were downstairs, preparing for their guests.

A few minutes later, he heard Regulus' door open and close, and Sirius peeked through his keyhole to see him heading down the stairs, dressed like a proper pureblood.

He crept over to his room, pulled out his wand and said, "_Accio_ dress shirt."

A white, antiquated looking shirt popped out of the closet and he grabbed it. He did the same for the trousers and vest. His school shoes would have to do though, which he'd worn home instead of his trainers since his mother would have had Kreacher throw them away had she seen them, and they were his favorites. His feet were a half size larger than Regulus' already and he couldn't squeeze them into Regulus' spares.

He stole back into his own room, quietly shutting the door behind him and locking it. He changed quickly, hoping that Regulus wouldn't be able to tell that he was wearing his clothes. He fumbled with the cravat; the wide Victorian neck tie he was expected to wear as part of the ensemble. The dress robe was tight across his broadened chest, but it served its purpose well enough, Sirius thought. All he needed was a silver handled walking stick and he'd look just like the portrait hanging in the dining room of his father.

He ran a comb through his hair and pulled it back with thin black ribbon. He looked in the mirror and barely recognized himself. He hated the image he saw staring back at him, this pureblood ponce, and was tempted to just put his regular clothes back on and say the hell with it like he'd originally planned, but something about being there, and the darkness that had already begun to swallow him made him want to hold off a bit on upsetting his parents. He hadn't quite steeled himself for a fight just yet, nor did he want his uncle there when it happened.

Before leaving the room, he rummaged through an old chest at the foot of his bed and found a picture album. Sirius noticed that he wasn't smiling in any of the shots, in fact he looked downright miserable in most of them. One held the image of a five-year-old Sirius crying and rubbing his eyes, another of Regulus shoving him to the ground; these torments playing like mini movies running on repeat forever. He pulled out several that he thought Annabelle would appreciate and shoved them inside the pocket of his robe. Then he ventured out into the hallway, leaning over the bannister of the stairs to listen for voices. They were there, inside the drawing room. He took a deep breath and started down.

Just as he reached the last step before the landing, the drawing room door opened and his father stepped out. Sirius froze as he stared helplessly at the brooding patriarch. He always hated how much he resembled his father, who was pretty much a slightly bigger and aging version of Sirius and Regulus. Except for the eyes. His father had midnight black eyes that barely seemed human they were so dark. Sirius held his breath.

"I was just coming to see what was keeping you," his father said. "Your robe is ill-fitting. And your shoes, where are your dress shoes?"

"They are too small, sir," he replied meekly.

His father exhaled deeply through his nose and clenched his jaw as he cast a look of disgust upon his son.

"You are a _disgrace_," he replied then stepped forward and grabbed him by the back of the neck, wrenching him off the last step and into the drawing room.


	41. From the Ashes

**_A/N: Warning: heavy theme of abuse/violence in this chapter. (Sorry in advance, I-am-Sherlocked-82!)  
_**

* * *

Sirius staggered into the drawing room, straightening up as soon as he regained his footing. His uncle and aunt turned and looked at him disapprovingly as his father followed behind him. Their youngest daughter, Narcissa, was sitting on the settee next to her fiancé, Lucius, and they both pursed their lips as though they were trying not to laugh. It was clear to Sirius that they'd all been talking about him just before he'd entered the room. He narrowed his eyes, but his father pinched the back of his arm and growled into his ear, "_Greet your family."_

Sirius awkwardly approached his aunt and uncle. His uncle stood up and shook his hand, but his facial expression remained stony and critical. Sirius leaned over and kissed his aunt's cheek and noticed that she smelled musty, like a dungeon. It was so powerful an odor that he felt his stomach lurch and he had to force himself not to gag.

He turned toward Lucius who stood up and shook his hand, squeezing it extra tightly like he had something to prove. Sirius didn't flinch. Then he leaned over to kiss Narcissa on the cheek and she wrinkled her nose in revulsion as he pulled away from her. Finally, he made his way to his mother, who sat stiffly in a straight backed wooden chair, her face the very definition of contempt. He found himself shaking a little as he pressed his lips to her cheek then said in a low voice, "Greetings, Mother."

She remained still, except for a slight twitching of her facial muscles and her eyes which had widened slightly, staring straight ahead like she was doing everything humanly possible not to slap his face. Regulus sat in a chair beside her, refusing to acknowledge Sirius' existence. Sirius was glad for that; if Regulus didn't want to look at him then he'd never notice that Sirius was wearing the dress attire that he'd nicked from his closet.

He took a seat next to his uncle, pushing his chair back a little so as not to be too close to him. Narcissa kept shooting him smug glances as they spoke of politics and money. Sirius could barely stomach the political talk as everything they touted went against the very core of his being, and the money talk simply bored him.

"Well, I think cousin Araminta had the right idea when she proposed making muggle-hunting legal," Cygnus said. "Maybe not all of them, but the derelicts. The extra filthy ones."

"Here, here!" cheered Sirius' mother in response. "It would have been an even better idea if they'd added mudbloods to the proposition. All they do is weaken the blood lines and they should be done away with before it becomes more of an issue than it already is."

Sirius knew they were trying to get a rise out of him. This was an old, rather horrific conversation, something they had no reason to talk about again, except to send a message to him. They had tried the same approach with Andromeda when they found about her muggle-born boyfriend, and it failed miserably. What made them think it would work with him?

"I think a law is in order that forbids half-breeds and muggle-borns from marrying pureblood wizards and witches," his father proposed. "That would put a halt to the feculent mudbloods forgetting their place and trying to forge relationships with the elite."

Sirius was impressed with his father's word choice and had to stop himself from calling out, _"Ten points to Slytherin!" _Comparing non-pureblood witches and wizards to shit… Nice touch. Leave it to Orion Black to come up with the most disgusting descriptors for his son's girlfriend. What an honorable man.

He denied them a reaction though, staring down at the fringe on the oriental rug, giving nothing away. The ability to remain aloof was a trait he'd picked up from his parents, maybe the only useful thing he ever learned from them. He knew it was killing them that he wasn't rising to the bait, and he wondered if they would give up finally.

"I hear Sirius has a little girlfriend," Narcissa chirped. "Why don't you tell us about her, cousin?"

She apparently had decided to cut to the chase.

"What would you like to know?" he said evenly.

"I'd like to know how she got my cousin expelled from Hogwarts," Lucius demanded.

"Sirius! Is this true?" his mother barked at him, feigning surprise, even though he was sure she knew all about what had happened.

"No, Mother," he replied tiredly. "It's not true. His cousin played a vile, intrusive trick. He got himself expelled."

Lucius turned beet red from anger, but said no more as Narcissa rested her hand on his arm.

"I heard she's quite a Quidditch player," Narcissa said, egging him on.

His aunt coughed and said, "A proper lady does _not_ play Quidditch."

Sirius bit his tongue to stop himself from unleashing a series of insults, beginning with a proper lady doesn't smell like just she rose from a coffin after fifty years sleeping.

"But mummy, she's Darien O'Neill's granddaughter. She can do no wrong!" Narcissa replied in a sugary sweet voice.

"Pish!" her mother replied. "I don't care if she's Merlin's granddaughter. A proper lady does _not _play Quidditch!"

"I am in complete agreement, Druella," his mother snapped, her eyes boring into Sirius.

"Why do you care so much, Cissy?" Sirius asked the gloating young witch.

His father erupted then.

"She cares because she doesn't want this family's name dragged through the _mud_!"

"You mean like her sister did?" Sirius replied.

Orion Black's eyes grew huge and Sirius knew he'd made a mistake.

Cygnus stood up and said, "I think it's time for us to be going now. Christmas shopping awaits. Sister, it was lovely to see you. Regulus, Orion, take care." He shot a condemning look at Sirius before turning to go.

The others stood up to leave as well, saying their farewells, kissing everyone goodbye, and ignoring Sirius, who had stood up anyway out of habit. His parents and Regulus walked them downstairs to retrieve their coats, but not before his father muttered, "Stay right here," to Sirius.

Sirius braced himself for what was coming. He heard the popping sounds of his uncle and his family disapparating. Moments later, his father stormed back into the room and cuffed Sirius so hard across the jaw that he fell sideways off the chair and onto the floor.

"How _dare_ you speak to your cousin that way?" his father bellowed. "In front of your uncle and aunt no less! You were raised to have manners, boy!"

Sirius didn't move. He thought maybe if he remained still, his father would lose interest, the way a troll might walk away if it no longer detected a threat.

"You will be in the dining room at six o'clock _sharp_!" Orion raged on, yanking Sirius to his feet by the shirt collar. "Now have some dignity! You are a Black. Act like it!"

Sirius was shaking as his father stalked off to the master bedroom. He touched the spot where his father had punched him, and winced with pain. He could already feel it swelling and he knew that it was the just the beginning. His resolve was wavering, and he was no longer certain he was brave enough to stand up to them once and for all. He ran up to his room and closed the door, cracked open his ceramic owl-shaped bank that he'd been stuffing money into since he was small, and shoved the contents into his robe pocket. He didn't come out again until just before dinner to wash up. He looked in the mirror and noticed that his jaw was bruised and the swelling had gotten worse. He felt like he was in prison, and that he'd never escape. How he longed to be far away from there, with his friends. With Annabelle.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

There weren't as many students staying at Hogwarts for the holiday this year as in previous years. In addition to Annabelle and three other Gryffindors, there were two Slytherin boys, three Ravenclaw girls, and two Hufflepuffs, a boy and a girl, all of varying ages. Annabelle was the oldest student there, which made her feel like the reluctant babysitter of the group at times.

She managed to lose Zelda and Twyla for a bit after setting up Alice's Gobstones game for them in the common room. Another Gryffindor, a fourth-year boy named Nico decided to play the game with them. They said they wanted to practice for that evening's scheduled game night in the Great Hall. Annabelle slipped upstairs and fell onto her bed, exhausted from being up so late the night before then getting up early to say good-bye. She wasn't interested in attending game night, as she wasn't a fan of wizarding games to begin with, but she had told McGonagall she'd be there to help out, so a nap was in order if she was going to make it.

Exhausted as she was, it took her a while for her mind to wind down. Her sleep was fraught with nightmares, children running from a giant beast with a razor sharp whip, someone screaming in the distance, and Annabelle sitting in a dark empty room, her hands dripping with blood. When she woke again, it was to the sound of Zelda and Twyla twittering in the doorway of her room.

She sat up with a jolt and said, "Is it dinner time?"

Twyla giggled and said, "Yes. We said your name like five times!"

"You wouldn't budge," snickered Zelda.

"Sorry," Annabelle muttered, brushing her hair and slipping on her shoes, trying to shake the bad dreams.

She walked down to the Great Hall with the girls, listening as they filled her in on all the first-year gossip. They talked her ear off all through dinner, even letting her in on their secret crushes and singing their favorite songs from the radio to her.

"Do you listen to Wizard Radio or Muggle Radio," Twyla asked her.

"I suppose I prefer Muggle Radio," said Annabelle. "It has a lot more options."

"Wizard Radio is so _boring_," said Zelda. "All that's ever playing is Celestina Warbeck.'

The little witch did her best impression of Celestina Warbeck then, dramatically warbling the lines from her latest hit, "You Cast a Spell on Me."

The girls burst out laughing after, including Annabelle, who was glad for the silly nature of eleven-year-olds.

"So you aren't fans of Ms. Warbeck, I take it?" Annabelle teased, the sarcasm going right over their heads.

"Ew, noooo!" they replied, then giggled some more.

"My mum listens to her," said Twyla.

"I prefer ABBA," said Zelda. "They are boss."

"Yeah, they are," said Annabelle.

The two girls instantly launched into their rendition of "Dancing Queen," getting a bit carried away and show-offy.

"Ladies," warned Professor McGonagall from her spot at the table next to theirs. Since there were so few students, the staff didn't sit at the head of the room; instead they sat together at another table where they could converse with each other informally.

"Oops!" Twyla said, her eyes crinkling merrily.

Zelda just shrugged and continued whispering the words to the song. Soon enough, the girls turned back to questioning Annabelle as their primary form of entertainment.

"Were you cross when those Slytherins played that trick on you?" Zelda asked.

Annabelle was tiring of these girls now. This was still a sore subject for her and she was in no mood to discuss herself and her personal business anymore, even though she knew they meant no harm.

"Yes, I was. Who wouldn't be?"

"I'd hex them into next week," Twyla said, and the girls giggled again.

"The thought did cross my mind," Annabelle replied.

"Did your _boyfriend_ kick that boy's arse?" she asked, smiling hopefully as she spoke.

"No," Annabelle said. "But he did punch him the face."

"That's wicked," she replied.

"We saw you kissing, once," Zelda said, almost snorting with delight.

"Merlin! Can we change the subject?" Annabelle asked, not hiding her irritation.

The girls giggled for the umpteenth time in the last fifteen minutes, but reluctantly moved on from the topic of Annabelle and her _boyfriend._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sirius made his way down to the dining room, the portraits of his ancestors whispering in disappointment as he passed. He heard the words blood traitor and dishonor being tossed around, but he no longer cared. He stopped at the hall closet to stuff his clothes, his meager savings, and the photographs Annabelle had requested into his rucksack. He wanted to be prepared.

Kreacher served dinner, and as hungry as Sirius was, his jaw hurt too badly to chew. There was also the familiar fear that Kreacher might try to poison him. But he did his best to eat some, mainly to avoid being berated for not eating.

No one spoke at first, and the only sound was that of the silverware clinking occasionally against plates. This was the standard at meal times. Nobody ever spoke much; Sirius and Regulus for fear of saying the wrong thing, and his parents because they were miserable and didn't like talking to each other. In recent years a new normal had developed, which consisted of Sirius losing control of his temper after countless attempts by his family to degrade him for not agreeing with their views, and getting the stuffing knocked out of him by his father. As much as he hated being beaten, it had to happen one more time if he was going to be free of them for good. He knew they weren't through with the subject of Annabelle, so he bided his time wondering which one it would be to bring her up again.

His father had finished his dinner, and put his silverware down. Sirius stared absently at the dark green walls and the grayish-silver serpentine border making its way around the crown molding. He could smell the gas from the flickering lights on the wall, and wished momentarily that they would malfunction and burn the house to the ground.

Finally, his mother broke the silence.

"Did you hear, darling, the Collins' family cancelled their annual New Year's party this year?" she asked her husband.

"Oh dear," he replied. "Whatever for?"

"Elsinore was expelled from Hogwarts," she said, pretending as though this was the first time she'd reported this information to him. "She was accused of the same thing as Malachi Malfoy. They are extremely upset over it."

They had given Sirius a perfect opportunity to get things rolling, but he held back. He wanted to see how far they'd go to offend him.

"What an utter shame," his father replied. "And all because of a mudblood's accusations. That Dumbledore needs to be put on a shorter leash, I think."

Sirius was compelled to defend Annabelle, but still he waited. He enjoyed making them stew. Leave it to Regulus to stir the pot, though.

"Of all the girls at Hogwarts, Sirius, you had to pick her?" he scoffed. "Only you would pick the dirty spawn of the O'Neill family over the gorgeous Elsinore Collins. You're bonkers."

"It does not matter," his father declared, "because whatever Sirius' involvement with the girl, it is now over."

It was time. Sirius nodded his head slowly, but rolled his eyes ever so slightly.

"Do you have something you'd like to say, son?" his father asked crossly.

"No father, I have nothing to say. You told me it's over. And so it is."

"Don't get cocky with me, young man," his father spat. "You want to pollute the Black family pedigree with that garbage? She's _garbage_, Sirius."

Sirius gritted his teeth and looked the elder Black in the eyes.

"No. She. Isn't."

His mother wailed, "If you continue consorting with trash you will no longer be a part of this family! You have disgraced us one too many times!"

Her screaming only served to agitate his father more. He stared at Sirius, his eyes filled with fury.

"I can't take this anymore," he said. "It is to be over, as of now. You are no longer permitted to have contact with her."

Sirius laughed irreverently, bobbing his shoulders up and down and shaking his head back and forth.

"Is something humorous?" his father questioned.

Sirius stopped laughing and sighed loudly.

"It's just that it will be difficult not to have contact with her since we are in classes together, we're lab partners, we live in the same house at school, we play Quidditch for the same team, and our friends all hang out with each other. I kind of have to see her."

His father began to shake with indignation.

"You are not to consort with her anymore," he said slowly, enunciating every word. "You have brought disgrace upon this family for the _last_ time!"

"And what if I enjoy consorting with her?" Sirius asked.

Orion Black slammed his fist down on the table causing the dishes to clatter. There was a breathless pause while father and son locked eyes, then his father lunged at him and slammed his face upon the edge of the table. Sirius felt the pain blast across the bridge of his nose as his father got up and strode over to him, grabbing him out of the chair by the arm and shoving him to the floor. Sirius inched backwards away from him, but there was no escaping as his father brandished his walking stick and leaned over him to continue the verbal lashing.

"It was one thing when you were sorted into the wrong house," he said, rage building in his voice. "It was another when you began chumming around with half-bloods and muggle-lovers. But this time you've gone too far. Your filthy little mutt's family goes against everything this family stands for. _EVERYTHING!_"

Sirius could barely speak for the pain throbbing in his face, but he made every effort to respond.

"Then I do, too," he replied, the blood from his nose trickling into his mouth.

"Oh you do, do you?" his father replied, then promptly yanked Sirius' arm up, raised his walking stick, and struck Sirius in the rib cage with it. Sirius yelped in pain.

Before his father could speak again, his mother stood up and began shouting, "I want him out of here right now! There will be no blood traitors in this family! I am tired of the _arrogance_, the flouting of impropriety, and this absurd love for half-breeds that you seem to be _infected_ with!"

His father squatted in front him and took hold of his son's aching face, causing it to throb even more.

"This is your last chance, Sirius. Stop defiling this family's noble reputation with all of this nonsense, or we wash our hands of you!"

Sirius could feel it; it was almost over. What he did next would be the thing that freed him, if it didn't kill him first.

"Wash your hands of me then," he replied. His father's black eyes were drilling into his, and Sirius, who lacked the strength to fight back, spit blood in his father's face.

Regulus gasped, turning three shades paler than he already was. He couldn't stand his brother, never could actually, but he didn't want to witness his father kill him. As Orion Black lifted his walking stick and began administering the barrage of blows upon Sirius' enfeebled body, he found himself coming between them.

His father stepped back in surprise as Regulus lifted Sirius by the shirt collar, doing his best to imitate his father's wrath and dragged him across the room where he gave him a heave, causing Sirius to fall to his knees near the front door.

"Get out, you putrescent spot upon this family!" Regulus roared. "Be gone with you!"

"I'm trying to," Sirius replied hoarsely, the agony that pulsed through him causing him to gasp intermittently.

He tried to sit up, but his mother charged him, slapping him fast and hard with the back of her hand, her sharp emerald ring cutting across his forehead, then again across the corner of his mouth.

"You have run out of chances! You won't abide by this family's rules, so you are not a part of this family any longer!" she hollered as she drew her wand and charged up the stairs to the family tree.

"Kreacher, his belongings," said Regulus.

Sirius lurched for the door as Kreacher opened the closet and threw his coat and rucksack at him.

He thought it was over and that he was finally free when his father grabbed him by the neck and growled, "Don't you ever come back."

"Let me go," Sirius croaked faintly. "Just let me go."

A subtle understanding seemed to pass between them, and his father opened the door and kicked him onto the cement stairs, causing Sirius to hit his face on the bottom step. Next, his coat and his rucksack landed a few feet away, and Sirius heard the door slam behind him. The evening darkness was a stark contrast to the brilliant daylight of a few hours earlier, and he could barely see for the lack of light and the blood running into his eyes.

It was the worst beating he had ever endured, but he had known it would be. They had issued the ultimatum as expected, and he refused, so they made one last attempt to beat him into submission. His body was coursing with pain so potent that he wasn't sure if he could move. The ribbon that had been holding his hair back had become loose and he pulled it the rest of the way out, leaving in on the ground. Slowly he got to his knees, and crawled on his left arm to his coat, as the other arm felt broken. He pulled the scarf out of the sleeve where he'd stuffed it and wrapped it around his bloody face, pulling his hair down over his forehead to hide the gash.

He managed to dislodge himself from the tight robe, his right arm hanging at an unnatural angle, and slipped into his coat. He clutched his rucksack and crawled to the curb, his ancestral home disappearing behind him. Fear that they would change their minds and drag him back inside compelled him to stand up, grasping the wrought iron fence of the house next door for support. He held on in an attempt to steady himself, and then took a few steps, then a few more, resting every now and then against the cold iron spikes. Once he was at the corner, he staggered to the curb and held out his good arm for the Knight Bus. It appeared with a clamor almost instantly, and he slowly climbed aboard trying to stomach the agony that quaked through his every nerve ending.

"Hogwarts Castle…please," he rasped to the driver as he set his rucksack down and groped for the exact change.

"Ya sure you don't mean St. Mungo's?" the conductor asked suspiciously. "You look like you've been in a fight with a Chimaera and lost."

"No… I won," Sirius mumbled vaguely as he took a seat by the window and closed his eyes. "I'm a Phoenix…rising from the ashes."

The driver and conductor exchanged befuddled looks, not sure if this lad was playing with a full deck. Then the driver hit the gas and they were off. Sirius leaned against the window, holding his aching abdomen with his working arm as the bus bounced back and forth and he slipped in and out of consciousness.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After dinner, Annabelle helped Professor McGonagall prepare the games for Game Night. Some of the staff that were staying for the holiday were present, happily participating in the diversion. Hagrid and Nico the Gryffindor had an intense game of chess going on, while Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall battled each other in Gobstones, much to the delight of the students. Annabelle found it all rather dull, actually, but had nothing better to do at the moment so she did her best to get involved.

She hated Exploding Snap more than any other game, but the Ravenclaw girls asked her to play with them so she suffered through the series of vexing cracks and pops. Later, Zelda and Twyla requested she watch them play Gobstones. She sat at a good distance to avoid being sprayed with the stinky liquid. The oldest Hufflepuff, a tall and strong looking fourth-year named Veronica sat down next to her and wanted to talk about Quidditch.

"So who's your favourite team?" Veronica asked her.

Annabelle realized Veronica must have thought she was a massive Quidditch fan because she was on the team. Truth be told, she had no real opinion on teams, so she gave the answer she always gave because it was her grandfather's favourite team.

"The Ballycastle Bats. You?"

"You know, the Holyhead Harpies are brilliant," she replied, "but I have to go with my hometown team, the Wigtown Wanderers."

Annabelle felt daft because she'd never even heard of the Wigtown Wanderers.

"Nice choice," she replied. "Do you play?"

"All the time when I'm at home," Veronica said. "Chaser. Although I'm also not bad at Beater."

"Why don't you try out for the Hufflepuff team next year?" Annabelle asked.

"I'm thinking about it actually," she said, then hesitated before continuing. "Did the boys treat you differently because you're a girl?"

"Hmm, not really," she said. "They were quite good about it actually. And they certainly didn't go soft with me."

"That's good to know," she replied. "It's not just a boys' sport, and there are female players that can outplay any male."

"You're right about that," said Annabelle with a smile. "Well, I hope you try out. It would be an honor to play against you next year."

"That would be amazing," Veronica said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect.

The two Slytherin boys, a first year named Phillip and a third year named Faustus had been mucking about in the entrance hall, pretending to duel. Annabelle was sent to check on them a few times, but Dumbledore, who had shown up to play a few rounds of Exploding Snap didn't seem to mind, as long as they didn't go tearing through the castle. Everyone had gathered around Dumbledore and the Ravenclaw girls, watching them play when the Slytherin boys came hurtling back into the Great Hall. They ran up to Annabelle and pulled at her sleeve.

"Come out here," Faustus whispered.

She looked at him doubtfully, reading his facial expression for some sign of a prank. Dumbledore glanced up briefly, but Annabelle slid off the table she was perched on and went with them. They each had her by a sleeve as they pulled her out into the dim entrance hall where the torches were casting spectral shadows across the walls. Faustus pointed toward a heap in the corner by the doors, and Annabelle suddenly felt frightened as she squinted to make out what it was.

She looked to Faustus who whispered, "He told us to bring you and you alone."

"Wha…who did?" she said, her heart beginning to pound as she took out her wand.

"Him," Phillip said. "In the corner."

Annabelle didn't move, but squinted again at the motionless mound in another attempt to figure out who or what it was.

"This better not be a trick, or you will pay dearly," she warned them.

"It's not a trick," he said. "He told us to find Annie."

Her eyes widened and she gasped, then bounded toward the corner, the tip of her wand alight.

"Sirius," she whispered as she fell to her knees beside him.

He was doubled over, his scarf still around his face, and he jumped as though he'd just been startled. She leaned over and put her hand on the side of his head in an attempt to get him to look her way, and he flinched again. Then, with a loud groan, he wrenched himself into a sitting position against the wall and pulled the crimson-stained scarf down, revealing his face.

Annabelle screamed.


	42. Silver Lining

**_A/N: Not sure if St. Mungo's had an ER, but I figure wizards must get injured non-magically as well at times, and some might need immediate attention from healers. So for this story, it has an ER where critical patients can be brought in quickly. :)_**

* * *

"GET HELP! _NOW_!" Annabelle shrieked, and the two Slytherin boys tore back into the Great Hall.

He was a jarring sight, with dried blood mixing with wet covering the majority of his swollen and sliced up face. His eyes kept closing then jolting back open; two shiny orbs suspended in the blood-soaked contours of his head. Annabelle's stomach clenched as panic possessed her.

She bent closer to him, afraid to touch him as he kept groaning and contorting to one side. He gave his shoulder a jerk, dislodging his rucksack and nudging it toward her. His eyes shut again but immediately opened as he winced in pain. This was far worse than anything she'd anticipated.

"Annie," he managed to moan, "It's all better now."

"Sirius, did they do this to you?" she squeaked.

"I'm never going back," he whispered as his eyes shut again.

Dumbledore flew into the entrance hall, casting a spell on the torches so they'd illuminate the space, and rushed over to Sirius. When Sirius saw the figure looming over him he attempted to shield himself as though it was his father about to inflict more pain.

"It's all right, son," Dumbledore soothed. "You're safe now."

The sudden brightness had brought a stark realness to what was happening. Annabelle started to tremble uncontrollably and said, "His parents…they did this, I know it…."

"Shhh, we'll take care of him," Dumbledore replied, then called for Madam Pomfrey, "Poppy!"

Madam Pomfrey was already on her way. She touched Annabelle's shoulder indicating for her to get out of the way, and Annabelle grabbed his rucksack and scrambled backwards, still on her knees. Professor McGonagall directed the students back inside the Great Hall, ordering a distressed Hagrid to keep them away from the door.

Annabelle sat watching, her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth as Madam Pomfrey did her best to examine him. Every time she'd touch him he'd yelp with pain. She used her wand to cut his coat and vest off of him and Dumbledore helped her remove the pieces of shorn fabric from his disfigured body. She also removed the cravat from his neck and made a tear along the shirt sleeve of the arm he kept holding.

After a quick examination, she said, "He has sustained multiple fractures and lacerations. There could be internal bleeding and swelling, clots, and possibly other trauma, so it's crucial we get him to St. Mungo's immediately."

"No…" Sirius groaned. "They'll look there… drag me back..."

"No one will do anything of the sort," Dumbledore assured him, as he stood up and did something Annabelle would have never guessed he was capable of; he leaned down, lifted Sirius off the floor and cradled him into his arms. "Please follow us, Poppy," he said. With a crack, they were gone.

Dumbledore could disapparate as he pleased, but he must have lifted the anti-disapparition jinx for professors that were leaving for the break because Madam Pomfrey was about to follow him. Annabelle cried out, "Wait! Let me come too!"

Professor McGonagall nodded to the nurse and Annabelle flung Sirius' bag over her shoulders, holding on tightly to Madam Pomfrey's arm. She squeezed her eyes shut and they disappeared with a snap.

Again, Annabelle felt sick as they arrived at the entrance of St. Mungo's Hospital Emergency Room, this time from the side-along apparition. As she entered, she caught sight of Dumbledore carefully laying Sirius down onto a stretcher that had no wheels; it was just magically suspended in the air. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. There were two nurses attending him and then a healer appeared from behind a set of double doors. Madam Pomfrey had rushed over to give her report, and Annabelle followed her. She heard phrases like "respiratory rate," and "immediate priority" being thrown around between them which caused her irrepressible shaking to return. They led the stretcher into the trauma unit. Annabelle tried to go too, but was stopped by a nurse who told her someone would notify her of his progress.

Dumbledore spoke briefly to Madam Pomfrey before she exited the emergency room and disapparated, then he put his arm around Annabelle and led her to a large, pristine waiting area where several other distraught witches and wizards were seated.

Annabelle was in a full blown state of panic. "You didn't tell them his parents are the ones responsible, did you, sir? The authorities, they'll get involved and…"

"No, Annabelle, I did not," Dumbledore replied, forgetting formalities and calling her by her first name. "I told them it was a random attack. Sirius is sixteen. If he was younger I would be forced to tell the authorities, but as it stands, I think it is much safer for Sirius if we don't do anything until we talk to him. He is old enough to decide for himself if he wants to take action against his family, and I am presuming he won't."

"He won't."

"Now if he plans to return home again, that is a different story," Dumbledore continued. "I will be forced to intervene, even if it means involving the authorities. Not that it would do much good with a family of such influence." He paused briefly and sighed, then he said, "I will never understand the depraved inclination in some pureblood families to harm their own."

"Did they say he's going to be okay?" Annabelle asked in a frightened voice.

"They didn't tell me anything, but he is receiving the finest care available to him at the moment, so in all likelihood I would say yes."

The fear on his face told a different story. He stood up and began to pace slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. Annabelle felt like she was in the middle of one of her nightmares. She was starting to find it hard to breathe, and she wanted to go outside for some air.

Just then, Professor McGonagall entered the waiting room.

"Is there any news?" she asked Dumbledore.

"None," he replied. "He is currently being treated."

She shook her head quickly, then sat down next to Annabelle and put a hand over hers, sensing her distraught frame of mind.

"You must remain calm, dear," she said. "Panicking will not help matters."

"I need to go for a walk," Annabelle replied.

Before anyone could stop her she traipsed from the room, and down the hallway toward the exit doors. Then another thought occurred to her, and she turned to the reception desk where a young wizard was sitting.

"Can you direct me to the owlery please?"

James would certainly want to know if his best friend was hospitalized, as would his parents who loved Sirius better than his own had done. The receptionist directed her and she made her way through the halls, taking an enchanted lift to a drafty room near the roof of the hospital. The other people in the owlery appeared distraught, one was even sobbing as she wrote, and she knew this was where witches and wizards came to send the worst kind of news. She almost left, not able to stand the horror of it, but she reminded herself that James and his parents would want to be informed of something this terrible happening to Sirius. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from the counter and wrote:

**_Dear James,_**

**_I am so sorry to alarm you, but Sirius was severely beaten and is currently at St. Mungo's receiving treatment._**

She paused, hoping she had articulated the gravity of the situation, but words were failing her. The tears started falling, and she wiped her eyes to prevent them from dripping onto the paper, finishing as best as she could.

**_He is badly hurt and I thought you should know._**

**_-Annabelle_**

She wasn't sure if James was leaving for Coventry that day or the next, but it didn't matter. The owl would find him. She decided not to tell anyone else yet because Sirius might be cross if she started disturbing people with news he might not want to share. She wanted Lily to be there, for her own sake really, but her parents were muggles and would have no quick way to get her there, even if Sirius was able to give his permission for Annabelle to tell her.

After she sent the owl, she returned to the ground floor. Professor McGonagall was just exiting and Annabelle caught up to her.

"Professor, is there any news?" she asked, as she passed through the double doors with her into the cold night air.

Professor McGonagall frowned and said, "Nothing yet, I'm afraid. I am heading back to the castle right now to make sure everything is in order, but I will return later if you don't return first."

Annabelle watched her disappear with a crack, then she followed a path that led out to the street, sat down on a curb, and began to shake with sobs. Her thoughts were all over the place. One moment she was angry at him for going home in the first place after she'd practically begged him not to, the next moment she was kicking herself for being angry at him, and blaming herself for not doing something else to help him. She sat out there, torturing herself with what-ifs and if-onlys until the frigid air made her skin hurt.

She decided to go back to the emergency waiting area. Dumbledore was now in the hallway pacing, stopping frequently to look toward the trauma unit doors, his hands still clasped behind his back.

"Is there any news, sir?" she asked him.

"Not yet, my dear," he replied, again looking at the doors that Sirius had passed through over an hour before. Annabelle found a spot in the corridor a little closer to the trauma unit where she could keep watch on the doors in case the healer appeared again, took his rucksack off her back, and hugged it close as she leaned against the wall. It occurred to her then that the rucksack felt heavy but was nearly empty. She wondered if he'd left his belongings at his house.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she crouched down and peeked inside. She pulled out the clothes he'd been wearing when he left that morning and folded them neatly, resting them in her lap as she looked into the bag again. There were two newspapers, a pile of wizarding money which explained the weight of the bag, and a nearly empty Bertie Botts Beans box still holding the flavours no one wanted to eat. There were also six photographs. She was touched that he'd remembered them. Despite everything else he'd been going through, he still honored Annabelle's request for pictures of him as a child.

She looked at the one on the top of the pile. It was a formal family portrait; Sirius looked to be about nine or ten years old, and she was struck by how much he looked like his brother and his father. His mother was similar with the dark hair and alabaster skin, but except for her gray eyes, her features were different somehow. She also noticed that none of them were smiling. In fact, the boys looked sad and defeated. A chill ran up her spine as she looked at the people that had brutalized their son, their spooky eyes staring back at her, and she shoved the pictures back into the bag. She wasn't sure she could stomach looking at them until she knew he was going to be okay.

She put his clothes and his newspapers back inside the rucksack and stood up, putting it over one shoulder. She figured he had left in a hurry and didn't have time to retrieve his belongings. Hopefully he hadn't left anything valuable or that he would need for school behind. Another thought occurred to her just then. Maybe he had purposely brought an empty bag because he'd known all along he wouldn't be staying. Maybe he'd thought this through.

A half hour later, the healer Annabelle recognized as the one who had brought Sirius into the trauma unit reappeared in the corridor and starting walking toward Dumbledore. She followed close behind, her heart pounding again. Healer Thomas Davies, as it identified him on his security tag, was young, probably only in his twenties, and he had a kind way about him. He spoke in a hushed tone.

"Good news," he said, immediately alleviating the gnawing dread that had been eating away inside her. "He's stable and it looks like he'll make a full recovery."

"That is good news, indeed," Professor Dumbledore replied.

"He was critical when he arrived," the healer continued. "This may not be easy to hear, but victims who sustain injuries of this nature and number are usually already deceased when they arrive here. He had multiples breakages and some severe internal bleeding and swelling."

Annabelle felt her stomach lurch at the talk of his injuries. What had he gone through… it was beyond anything she could rationally comprehend, nor could she fathom the soullessness of the monsters responsible.

"Can we see him, now?" Annabelle asked.

"He's currently sleeping," replied the healer, "and we'd like him to do so for as long as possible, but when he awakens we will be keeping him for observation for another hour or so at which point you may visit with him. Don't be alarmed when you see him; Essence of Dittany is used to heal lacerations and it is brown in color. He has quite a bit of it on his face, but in a day or two, any signs of injury will have disappeared completely. Depending how he responds, and because there is a healer on staff at the school, he should be able to return with you tonight. He may have a touch of soreness for a day or two, but once the nerve damage is healed, he will feel much better."

"Thank you very much, young man," Dumbledore said to the healer as he shook his hand. "You do your profession proud."

Annabelle never ceased to be amazed by how quickly and efficiently wizarding medicine literally worked its magic. He looked almost dead two hours ago in the Hogwarts entrance hall. Now he was almost entirely healed. She had never been more thankful for magic than she was in that moment. Just then, she heard a familiar voice.

"Annabelle!"

James jogged toward her and straightaway pulled her in for a hug. Fresh tears spilled from her eyes; she felt so relieved to have a friend there.

"How is he?" James asked, as his parents spoke to Dumbledore and Healer Davies.

"He's okay now, but it was gruesome what they did…" she said, letting go of him and wiping her eyes.

"Can we see him?" he asked.

"The healer said he's sleeping… if you had seen what they did to him…It looked like they tried to kill him. Broken bones, cuts, blood everywhere…"

"I can only imagine; those fucking beasts," he said, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. "Poor kid can't catch a break with them, ever. In fact I feel like going to that bloody house right now and blasting their fucking heads off."

"Shhh," Annabelle said, pulling him aside. "Dumbledore told the healer and nurses it was a random attack. They don't know his parents did it, or else the authorities will get involved he'll have to face them again."

"That makes sense," he whispered. "God! I had a bad feeling all week that something was going to happen. He was acting strange about it, and when I asked him why he wouldn't just come home with me, he mentioned something about needing to 'rid himself of their influence once and for all.' He wouldn't talk about it anymore though. What in the bloody hell was he thinking!?"

Annabelle's brow knitted as she frowned.

"I don't know," she said, as she wiped her eyes again. "All I know is that he needs us to be strong, and I'm not feeling particularly strong right now."

James sighed, and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"You want to go get a cuppa?" he asked. "The fifth floor has a café."

Annabelle nodded and James called to his parents who were deep in conversation with Dumbledore and the healer, "We're going to get some tea. Be back in a bit."

As they drank their tea, they discussed what they knew of Sirius' parents, and the many violent ways they would have made the brutes pay for what they did had Sirius not recovered. James said that Sirius never talked too much about what went on at home, sometimes dropping hints about the nature of the abuse, but never elaborating on it, even though James could read between the lines.

"And all because he didn't see things their way," he said. "They cared so much about what other people thought of them that they almost killed their own son for being different."

"He told me his father preferred fists to wands, once," Annabelle recalled. "But then he told me it only happened once in a while."

"It only happened once in a while because he was only home once in a while," James replied. "He was at school or at my house most of the time. You can bet it happened every time he went home though."

"It's just so awful," Annabelle replied. "I can't imagine what he went through all these years."

When they were finished, they went into the gift shop. They were immediately drawn to a collection of Father Christmas figurines that were charmed to move when his nose was touched. Even more interesting was what Father Christmas was doing in all of them. In one he was bending over, showing his bare bum which emitted a rude noise, in another he was staggering around drunk with a bottle of fire whiskey, singing "I Saw Three Ships," and then there was one they liked best, Father Christmas on a broom getting hit in his belly with an attached Bludger. Every time the Bludger smacked him, Father Christmas would say, "_Bugger me_!"

"We must get that for him," James said with a grin.

Annabelle was about to agree, but the fact that Father Christmas was being hit by something and crying out just didn't seem funny in light of what just happened.

"But… isn't it a bit violent?" she asked. "I mean, he's getting hit."

"Maybe you're right," James agreed. "What about this one?"

He pointed to a Father Christmas that had a pair of red braces holding up his trousers. Annabelle touched its nose, which made Father Christmas snap his braces too hard, causing them to break and his trousers to fall down revealing undies with red lips all over them. Then Father Christmas gasped and exclaimed, _"Blimey, I've lost me britches!"_

"That's a good one. It will remind him of what I did to Snivellus last year," James snickered.

"It's a good one, but not for that reason."

James rolled his eyes. "Here we go," he said. "Yes, it was mean. But it was pretty funny that the git wasn't wearing trousers under his robe. And did you see his pants? Right foul they were. Come on, admit it was funny."

Annabelle had wondered about that at the time. She presumed Severus wanted to be comfortable for the exam; it was June after all and quite humid, and he probably wasn't expecting that someone would use his own spell against him, even if it had become a popular prank to play. But his undies had looked in need of a good washing, which made many of the students present for the prank laugh at him.

"Admit it," James ordered again.

"It was odd."

"It was _funny_. Say it."

Annabelle grinned and said, "All right, it was a teensy bit funny. But mostly not. Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think. If this gift makes Sirius smile, for whatever reason, then I am all for it."

"You thought that was funny? And I thought you were nice," James teased as he brought the figurine to the cashier. "That's cruel, Annabelle. Really cruel."

Annabelle exhaled in exasperation. "Come on. He may be awake now," she said.

They rejoined Dumbledore and the Potters in the waiting area. Annabelle smiled and greeted James' parents politely, and they thanked her kindly for notifying them of the situation. Dumbledore made small talk with them, and James slouched in a chair and closed his eyes. Eventually, he started to nod off.

Annabelle sat a little ways away from them, pulled out Sirius' copy of the Daily Prophet from his rucksack and flipped through it, purposely avoiding the part about the dark wizard Voldemort's recent activity. She'd had enough horror for one day.

Mrs. Potter made her way over to her a few minutes later and sat down next to her. Annabelle didn't feel like talking, but when she saw Mrs. Potter's concerned expression, she softened toward the older witch and gave her a timid half-smile.

"How are you doing, dear?" she asked Annabelle.

It was one of those questions that people don't really want to know the answer to, but ask just for something to say. Despite just wanting to be alone with her thoughts, she abided Mrs. Potter's attempts at conversation, since she looked drawn and anxious, and was obviously worried about Sirius, too.

"I'm okay," Annabelle replied.

"You know, when we met you at Family Day, it was clear to us that you are very important to Sirius. I am so glad he has you in his corner."

Annabelle smiled in an attempt to mask her feeling of awkwardness and replied, "Well, he's important to me, too."

"I didn't realize they were capable of something this criminal," Mrs. Potter said. "I just wish I could have done more to help him."

"Me too," Annabelle responded. It was the thing she kept going over in her own mind; what else could she have done to protect him from the ruthless assault. She couldn't come up with anything short of hexing him and kidnapping him to India, which would have been very difficult to pull off anyway. He had been determined to face them, and no one was going to stop him.

Finally, an eldery, white-haired nurse appeared and notified them that Sirius was awake. Since he was in the intensive care unit, visitors would be limited to two at a time. James and Annabelle eagerly stood up and looked to Dumbledore and the Potters.

"I'm sure he'd prefer to see you two first," Mrs. Potter said. "Go on."

They walked anxiously behind the nurse who led them into the trauma unit where they heard moaning and wailing behind billowy white curtains, catching the occasional glimpse of an injured wizard or witch with healers waving wands over them and chanting complex incantations. They continued around a corner and through a door, then turned down a long white hallway. It was quiet except for the sounds of their shoes scuffing along the shiny floor and an occasional mumble of conversation from patients and their guests. The odor of healing potions and balms was pungent and made Annabelle's nose tingle. As she passed the rooms of other patients, the nervous feeling in her stomach grew stronger. She still had the image of him in the entrance hall covered in bruises and blood seared into her brain, and even though she knew he had been healed physically, she had no idea what his emotional state would be.

"Try not to cry in front of him, okay?" James said.

Annabelle leered at him and retorted, "I wasn't planning to."

"All I mean is that if you get all emotional then it will only upset him," James explained.

"Point taken, _boss,_" she snapped. "And thank you for the heads up. As though I needed it."

"Girls are so bloody sensitive," he murmured under his breath.

Sirius' room was at the end of the hall, and James and Annabelle held back while the nurse popped in to speak to him. Annabelle could tell James was feeling nervous too.

"Mr. Black, you have some visitors here to see you," she said. "I'll be just down the hall if you need anything." Then she bustled off to her station.

Annabelle leaned around the corner and peeked in warily, and James, who was a bit taller, got on his tip toes and peeked his head in above Annabelle's.

Sirius was propped up in the hospital bed and resting on his side, facing the door. His stoic face instantly turned into a smile when he saw them peeping around the door frame. Annabelle's heart gave a leap at the sight of him, despite the unsettling brown splotches of the healing potion covering his wounds.

He sat up a bit straighter when they entered. The cuts on his face already looked partially healed. Annabelle wanted to leap on him and squeeze him and cover him with kisses, but instead she bent to gently hug him and gave him a peck on a Dittany-free part of his cheek. Its odor was powerful and she sneezed three times in quick succession as she took a seat. James had gone round to the other side of the bed where there was another chair.

"Bless you," the boys said at the same time as they exchanged a macho handshake that consisted of slapping the backs of their hands together, then their palms, ending with a quick shake and a squeeze before snapping their hands back. Merlin forbid boys actually hug.

"Thank you," she said.

He turned to James and asked, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Coventry by now?"

"We're leaving tomorrow," he said. "Annabelle sent an owl telling us what happened. My parents are outside with Dumbledore."

"That's really nice of them," Sirius said, clearly moved by their concern.

An uncomfortable silence ensued then, since neither Annabelle nor James knew what to say. They looked at each other nervously, hoping the other would speak first, and Sirius looked from Annabelle to James, then back to Annabelle.

"We can talk about it, you know… it's fine," Sirius said. "I'm not going freak out or anything."

James shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stayed quiet. Annabelle took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I guess I'm just wondering why they did it," she said timidly, still not able to understand his parents' extreme and barbaric behaviour.

Sirius looked down at his hands and replied, "It's just what they do…. They had reached their breaking point with me, as I had with them."

"Did you know something like this was going to happen?"

Sirius nodded slowly and replied, "I had an idea. I hoped they wouldn't take it this far, but…."

He trailed off and Annabelle glanced at James again. He was staring off into space, absently biting a fingernail. She looked back to Sirius.

"You were so determined to go home, even though you knew they would hurt you. I don't understand why."

Sirius held out his palm for her hand and she took it. He gave her hand a squeeze and tried to explain.

"They were never going to let me be, Annie. They would have continued to check up on me, hound me, question me…. They'd have continued punishing me if I didn't give them a reason to disown me. Once the Black family renounces you, you are out for good. There is no looking back."

"So you gave them a reason?"

"I did," he replied matter-of-factly. "They issued a final ultimatum and I refused it."

"What was the final ultimatum?" she asked, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

He averted his eyes from her, and swallowed hard. His hesitation told her everything she needed to know.

"They told you to stop seeing me," she said. "And you refused so they attacked you and…and they almost bloody killed you."

He sighed sadly and frowned, looking down at her hand in his. Then he looked her in the eyes.

"Yes," he responded. "But Annabelle, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I wanted to be free of them. In a way, you actually helped me to stand my ground. I might have caved if it was anything else, but I wasn't willing to give you up…."

"I would never have spoken a word to you in September if I'd known you were going to be bludgeoned nearly to death for it," she said, struggling to remain calm. "You could have died…."

"I told you already; if not you, it would have been something else," he said, becoming flustered. "Don't you get it? There would always have been something. I can't be what they wanted me to be. Their beliefs are _revolting,_ and they never cared about me… they didn't love me… I just wanted to be free of them..." He stopped himself as his voice caught. His eyes grew misty and one lone tear escaped down his potion-covered cheek.

"Well… _we _love you," Annabelle said softly. "_We_ care about you."

She recalled James' warning about not crying in front of him, and she looked to the bossy nail-biter again, wishing he would say something to break the tension. She was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes and his chin was quivering ever so slightly as he continued gnawing on his fingernails. He hadn't spoken because he was willing himself not to cry.

Seeing James like that pushed her over the edge and she put her hands over her face. The tears spilled out as she sobbed quietly. In response, James took his glasses off, leaned over and hung his head down, not able to control his emotions any longer. His shoulders shook as a small whimper escaped him and he sniffled loudly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

Sirius looked at the both of them and slowly his frown turned to a wry smile.

"What are you like, you sappy saps?" he said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Merlin, pull yourselves together!"

Annabelle took her hands off her tear-streaked face and glared at him, but couldn't repress the urge to smile a little when she saw the look on his face.

"You lost the ability to glare at me long ago, Annie, so stop trying already," he quipped.

James leaned back in his chair, and looked toward the ceiling. He was breathing deeply in an attempt to regain his composure.

Sirius said to him, "Come on, mate, I hate to see you like this."

James gaped at him angrily and snapped, "And I hate to see_ you_ like _this_! When we got that owl I thought we'd be going to your funeral, you nutcase!"

Sirius flinched slightly, then looked at James like he was trying not laugh at him. Annabelle stiffened as James narrowed his eyes at Sirius. There was tense pause, then Sirius grinned.

An instant later, the boys both started laughing. She exhaled in relief; she just couldn't handle any more tension.

James wiped his eyes and put his glasses back on. Then he said, "Just don't ever do this again, okay?"

"Hmm, I don't think that will be a problem," Sirius replied with a chuckle.

"We've brought you something from the gift shop," James said.

Annabelle grinned as James handed him the bag.

Sirius pulled out the figurine and said sarcastically, "A figure of Father Christmas. How heart-warming."

"Touch his nose," Annabelle said, smiling in anticipation.

Sirius did and when Father Christmas dropped his britches, he burst out laughing. "I think we should give this to Snivellus," he said, as he touched its nose again.

He and James started shaking with laughter, and Annabelle knew it was because they were recalling Severus' astonishing lack of trousers under his robes and the saggy, graying undies he'd been wearing. Annabelle tried not to laugh, but their laughter was so infectious that she couldn't help it.

"Your girlfriend is so mean," James exclaimed between laughing jags. "She laughs… she laughs at poor Snivellus!"

Sirius, who was laughing so hard he could barely speak, declared, "I knew I fancied her for a reason!

Annabelle was happy to see him acting like himself. He seemed elevated somehow, like a burden had been lifted. She was seeing a silver lining, and for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to feel hopeful.

"Maybe we can buy Severus some kissy lip undies to wear under his robe," she chimed in. "They can be a peace offering from James... a belated Christmas gift." They all crumpled over in fits, laughing themselves silly.


End file.
